Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Sound Income Strategies LLC

Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 19th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $497.13 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $478.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $495.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

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.