Sei Investments Co. Increases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $30,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,091,000 after buying an additional 4,066 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 240.9% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 26,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,274,000 after buying an additional 18,483 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Global Investments boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 972.6% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 18,224 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,552,000 after acquiring an additional 16,525 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price 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. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $506.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $476.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.