Intellus Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 727 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Intellus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 727 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $341,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $475.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.53. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Barclays dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

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.