Oak Thistle LLC Buys Shares of 763 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

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

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $480.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $482.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $493.47. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.