KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC Acquires 561 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,321 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the quarter. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,966,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 24.3% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,041,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,229 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $972,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $21,492,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 336,133 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $146,673,000 after acquiring an additional 15,358 shares during the period. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.1% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,272 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,426,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on NOC shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $481.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 755,279 shares, compared to its average volume of 742,583. The company's 50-day moving average is $482.29 and its 200-day moving average is $493.47. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $70.15 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated 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 buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.