HB Wealth Management LLC Sells 56 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

HB Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,869 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 56 shares during the quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Susquehanna lowered their price objective 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 reduced 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $482.49 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $480.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $494.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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

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.