Motco Acquires 150 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Motco lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,862 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Motco’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,567,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 291 shares of company stock valued at $129,184. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $574.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.75.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.1 %

NOC stock opened at $459.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $66.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23, 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. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $469.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $496.50. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.