Oxler Private Wealth LLC Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Oxler Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,116 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises about 1.1% of Oxler Private Wealth LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Oxler Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, January 19th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $486.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $70.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $478.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $497.53.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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.