Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC Cuts Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 12.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $4.81 during trading on Friday, hitting $457.40. 184,688 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 684,036. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $66.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.34, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $485.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently 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.