604 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Acquired by RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC

RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $284,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $171,580,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 225.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $153,926,000 after acquiring an additional 227,314 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $94,370,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $453,961,000 after acquiring an additional 170,976 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $512.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $74.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $479.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $492.73. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, 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 value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Eight equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

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.