Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Holdings Lowered by B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,318 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,016 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,892,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $53,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $553.27.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $480.00 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $506.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $488.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman 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.