Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 16,842 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $502.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $478.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $495.36. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.