Marion Wealth Management Purchases 70 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Marion Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,720 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Marion Wealth Management’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $61,000. BOKF NA grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 11.2% in the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 3,779 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,647,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 24.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $333,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC traded up $14.40 on Monday, reaching $473.09. The stock had a trading volume of 964,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 790,472. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $484.74 and a 200-day moving average of $493.07. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $68.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

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

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $551.40.

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.