Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Increases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,382 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 18.0% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $917,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 63.0% during the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,481,000 after buying an additional 3,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $214,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.5 %

NOC opened at $471.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $476.15 and its 200-day moving average is $499.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

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

Northrop Grumman Profile

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.