Trinity Street Asset Management LLP Raises Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,367 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises 2.2% of Trinity Street Asset Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $22,698,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in 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 period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $595.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $482.49. 1,091,510 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 573,523. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $480.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 51.05%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.