CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Purchases 112 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,631 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NOC opened at $512.16 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The business has a 50-day moving average of $479.17 and a 200 day moving average of $492.73. The firm has a market cap of $74.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

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.