433 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Bought by Modern Wealth Management LLC

Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 433 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 75.6% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 17,386 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,181,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,056,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 572,451 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $302,294,000 after buying an additional 75,921 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,567 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,940,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $511.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $478.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $493.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

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.