VSM Wealth Advisory LLC Invests $47,000 in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fox Hill Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 47.4% during the fourth quarter. Fox Hill Wealth Management now owns 5,182 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,432,000 after acquiring an additional 1,666 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,581 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,027,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 716 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $872,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $491.56 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $473.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $493.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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.