Nuance Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Nuance Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,673 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,720 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up 1.7% of Nuance Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $42,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $1.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $511.86. The stock had a trading volume of 730,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,646. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $478.20 and a 200 day moving average of $492.84. The firm has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business 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 1.61%. 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 allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.