AdvisorNet Financial Inc Lowers Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 349 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,005,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Marion Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Marion Wealth Management now owns 2,720 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Parisi Gray Wealth Management grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Parisi Gray Wealth Management now owns 1,156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $542,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $266,000. Bar Harbor Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Cooper Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 1,906 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $894,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $551.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 3.1 %

NYSE NOC opened at $473.09 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $68.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $484.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $493.34.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.