Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC Buys New Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Ridgeline Wealth Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 598 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.6% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $721,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 18.0% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.9% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,158 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $611,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 63.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% during the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 4,125 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,178,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $473.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $68.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $476.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $500.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.