Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Sells $15,849.90 in Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.30, for a total transaction of $15,849.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 4,057 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,948,577.10. This trade represents a 0.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.1 %

NOC stock traded up $10.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $491.61. 553,924 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 864,273. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $478.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $491.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $71.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.06.

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.