Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by PDS Planning Inc

PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 716 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $489.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $473.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.79. The company has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Insiders own 0.22% 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.