Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Has $4.91 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 814.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 9,320 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 13.0% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 9,107 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,810,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $392,000. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 1,425 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $753,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,315,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC now owns 552 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $448.59 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $471.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $497.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $64.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.83, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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. Nine 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.56.

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.