Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. Takes $6.56 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Richard C. Young & CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 13,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,557,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in 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 during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 154.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,224,000 after acquiring an additional 95,724 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

NOC opened at $468.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $476.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 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 expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.31.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $662,868. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

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.