Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 944 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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, January 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $497.13 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $478.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $495.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

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