denkapparat Operations GmbH Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 784 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 121.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 460 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.0% in the third quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 75.6% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.8% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $9,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,056,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $513.95 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $74.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $477.61 and its 200-day moving average is $493.12. 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 earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.