Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC Has $2.98 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,340 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $74,206,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,171,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given 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 price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $482.49 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $480.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $494.10. The firm has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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.