Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $693,000 Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 377 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $433.63 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $472.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $498.17. 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 stock has a market cap of $62.77 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

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.