KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. KMG Fiduciary Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE NOC opened at $480.29 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $69.98 billion, a PE ratio of 29.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $482.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.47.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding 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 an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.