Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) VP Benjamin R. Davies Sells 464 Shares

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.6 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $473.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $469.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $495.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $68.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved 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 purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.