IMG Wealth Management Inc. Makes New $79,000 Investment in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 169 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares during the period. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% during the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,574,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective 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. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $486.10 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $494.23. 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 company has a market capitalization of $70.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication 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.