Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC Has $439,000 Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 936 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $439,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $482.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $480.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.71. 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, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Barclays reduced their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

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.