Ashton Thomas Securities LLC Sells 32 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 501 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced 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. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $506.88 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $476.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.88. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $73.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its 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%. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 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 shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

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.