Invesco Ltd. Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 24.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 343,018 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $813,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 111.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,974,000 after buying an additional 4,964 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.6% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 27,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $604,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,361 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $23,954,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $481.65 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $478.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $491.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on NOC. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,472 shares of company stock worth $2,111,332 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.