Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC

S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 27.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,369 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $643,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $40,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $475.37 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $483.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.26 billion, a PE ratio of 29.45, 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 (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business 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 given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management 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.