Cigna Investments Inc. New Sells 27 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Cigna Investments Inc. New lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,410 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Cigna Investments Inc. New’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $662,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,571,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,366 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $917,000 after buying an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,158 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $611,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 63.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $473.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 3.00 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. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $476.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $500.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased 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. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned 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 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.