Procyon Advisors LLC Buys 1,801 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Procyon Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 43.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 24.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $972,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $21,492,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 336,133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $146,673,000 after purchasing an additional 15,358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.1% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 3,272 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $480.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $482.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $493.47. The company has a market capitalization of $69.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

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.