Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stake Reduced by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOCFree Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 28,526 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $13,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $622,000. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 143.2% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,902 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 89.3% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. UBS Group lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $551.40.

View Our Latest Report on Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

NOC opened at $458.37 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $484.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.07. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $66.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOCGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

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