Lake Street Advisors Group LLC Purchases 53 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,574 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $454.80 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $65.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $469.74 and its 200-day moving average is $496.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $574.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 291 shares of company stock worth $129,184. Insiders own 0.22% 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.