Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 33.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 659 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 338 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after purchasing an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $1,133,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.7 %

NOC stock opened at $472.19 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $483.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.62. 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 $68.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.94.

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.