Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Has $859,000 Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $487.22 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $469.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $495.03. 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 firm has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

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.