Mark A. Welsh III Sells 33 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $480.08, for a total value of $15,842.64. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 4,106 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,971,208.48. The trade was a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $466.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.50 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $477.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $499.22. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding 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 generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.31.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares during the period. Finally, AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.