Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Founders Capital Management

Founders Capital Management decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman accounts for approximately 1.4% of Founders Capital Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Founders Capital Management’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. 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 research note on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded up $12.00 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $470.69. The stock had a trading volume of 392,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,630. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $484.74 and its 200 day moving average is $493.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.58 billion, a PE ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. 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 current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. 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 has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are 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 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman 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.