Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Position Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 164,451 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,983 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $77,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.3% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,553,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,886 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,052,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 1,074 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $567,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. UBS Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $433.63 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $472.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $498.17. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $62.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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.