Modus Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 82 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $1,133,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $467.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 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. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $490.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $490.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid 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 1.76%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $553.27.

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.