Mark A. Welsh III Sells 33 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.74, for a total value of $15,072.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 4,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,890,446.86. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $462.68 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $67.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $486.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $492.21. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given 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 yield of 1.78%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $551.40.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake 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 buying an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $129,409,000 after acquiring an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.