Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Marietta Wealth Management LLC

Marietta Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the quarter. Marietta Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $486.97 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.17, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $478.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $497.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company 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 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.31.

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.