Kovack Advisors Inc. Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Kovack Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 539 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.75.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $461.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $469.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $496.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 291 shares of company stock worth $129,184. 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.