Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Sells $15,842.64 in Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.08, for a total value of $15,842.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,971,208.48. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.3 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $6.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $466.29. The stock had a trading volume of 788,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 857,300. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $67.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $477.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $390,667,000 after buying an additional 23,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.31.

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.