Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 162 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 25.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 471 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 162 shares during the period. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Money Concepts Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $207,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 95.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 16,301 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,681,000 after buying an additional 7,953 shares during the last quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $579,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,938,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $471.17 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $478.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their target price 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. Finally, Citigroup raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,222 shares of company stock valued at $647,025. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.