816 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Bought by MFA Wealth Services

MFA Wealth Services purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 816 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $383,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research 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 report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.6 %

NOC opened at $499.56 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $478.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $495.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company has a market cap of $72.78 billion, a PE ratio of 30.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 earnings per share for the current 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 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 dividend yield of 1.65%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.