Kathy J. Warden Sells 3,750 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.5 %

NOC opened at $487.22 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $469.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $495.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 630 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC now owns 2,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,197,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 5,613 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,964,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the period. Finally, Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 813 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $429,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.