Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III Sells 33 Shares

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.74, for a total transaction of $15,072.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,139 shares in the company, valued at $1,890,446.86. This represents a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $454.08. 588,623 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 667,679. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $66.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. 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’s 50-day moving average is $488.53 and its 200-day moving average is $492.28.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $549.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted 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 valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% 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.