Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) VP Benjamin R. Davies Sells 192 Shares

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $2.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $449.98. 1,452,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 972,283. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $471.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $497.58. The company has a market cap of $65.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 16,856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,910,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $618,000. American Trust raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 35.9% during the fourth quarter. American Trust now owns 2,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $978,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,419 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,074,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.