CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Buys 112 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,631 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,065,000 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. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.7% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,567 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 252.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after buying an additional 2,910 shares during the last quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $1,974,000. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 47.5% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 4,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,460,000 after acquiring an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $512.16 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $479.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.73. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $74.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.