Insider Selling: Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Sells 33 Shares of Stock

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

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $452.47 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The business has a fifty day moving average of $487.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.42. The stock has a market cap of $65.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced 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. The company 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%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $549.93.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Aviso Wealth Management boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,133,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.