CWA Asset Management Group LLC Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 89.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,257 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $462.68 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $486.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

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.