Aljian Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,896 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises 1.0% of Aljian Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Aljian Capital Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 154.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $83,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $16.36 on Monday, reaching $438.70. The stock had a trading volume of 2,035,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,728. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $63.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's fifty day moving average is $474.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.56.

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.