Arkadios Wealth Advisors Buys 194 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,893 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $53,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $482.49 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $480.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $494.51. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

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

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.