Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Personal CFO Solutions LLC

Personal CFO Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 80.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 714 shares during the quarter. Personal CFO Solutions LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays cut 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.5 %

NOC stock opened at $487.22 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $469.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.03. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire 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 shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.