Family Legacy Inc. Grows Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Family Legacy Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,067 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 120 shares during the quarter. Family Legacy Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,804,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna dropped their price target 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, Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE NOC opened at $511.86 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $478.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.68. The company has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, 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 three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.