Brookstone Capital Management Has $1.41 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,005 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 129 shares during the quarter. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 29,695 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $13,936,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 7,323 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,437,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI now owns 32,602 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,300,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $472.19 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, 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 company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $483.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.62.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’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 directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.94.

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.