Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC

Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,046 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. Wescott Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $71,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 252.8% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 4,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,460,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 42.9% in the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,715 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,962,000 after buying an additional 1,115 shares during the period. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $224,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Susquehanna dropped their price target 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. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $515.20 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $479.48 and its 200-day moving average is $492.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $74.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally 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.