Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 39.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $531,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Essex Savings Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 819 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $237,000. Stolper Co lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Stolper Co now owns 14,798 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,945,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. ERn Financial LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 128.8% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 1,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $522,000 after buying an additional 626 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $472.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market capitalization of $68.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $483.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.62. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.94.

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.