107 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Acquired by Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp

Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 107 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NOC. Citigroup lifted their target price 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. Barclays dropped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $513.95 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $477.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.12. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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

Northrop Grumman 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.