Mark A. Welsh III Sells 33 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.74, for a total value of $15,072.42. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,139 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,890,446.86. The trade was a 0.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $462.68 on Friday. 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 $485.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $492.01. The stock has a market cap of $67.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm 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 revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reduced their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research 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 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $551.40.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

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

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.