New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $8.65 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,645,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $522,000. abrdn plc grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 27.1% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 12,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,756,000 after purchasing an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $264,000. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $229,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.75.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 291 shares of company stock worth $129,184. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.1 %

NOC stock opened at $459.90 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $469.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $496.50.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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 $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.