180 Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 475 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

180 Wealth Advisors LLC cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOCFree Report) by 27.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,271 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 475 shares during the period. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $596,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOC. Barclays cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on NOC

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value 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. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NOC opened at $475.37 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $483.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $493.62. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $69.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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 $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

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