Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Holdings Boosted by Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.

Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $36,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $53,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $482.49 on Friday. 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 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $481.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.38. The company has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of 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 cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

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.