Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Annex Advisory Services LLC

Annex Advisory Services LLC decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,117 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $524,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $482.49 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $480.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $494.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month 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. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.