Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Has $94.55 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 201,480 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,423 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned 0.14% of Northrop Grumman worth $94,552,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 27,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 45,361 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $23,954,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Geller Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,417,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $491.05 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $479.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $491.70.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its 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%. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays dropped 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

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.