Hartford Investment Management Co. Lowers Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,454 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 193 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $471.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, 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. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $476.46 and a 200 day moving average of $499.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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 repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About Northrop Grumman

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.