one8zero8 LLC Takes $329,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

one8zero8 LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased 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 lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE NOC opened at $486.10 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $471.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $494.23. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $70.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.