Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Has $1.19 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after buying an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 755 shares of company stock valued at $342,972. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $473.57 on Tuesday. 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 $68.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $469.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $495.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.75.

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.