Capital Planning Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Capital Planning Advisors LLC cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 884 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Susquehanna dropped 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. Barclays dropped 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. Citigroup raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $504.74 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $478.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $495.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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 $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

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

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.