Twin Capital Management Inc. Has $624,000 Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,334 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $624,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $154,720,000 after acquiring an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $494.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $462.58 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $459.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.