Old North State Wealth Management LLC Purchases 127 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Old North State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,033 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 1858 Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $837,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Welch Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 2,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Flavin Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $909,000. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $550,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.31.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other 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 directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,222 shares of company stock worth $647,025. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $482.79 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $478.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.10. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $69.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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

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.