Bay Capital Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 774 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Bay Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 774 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $1.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $511.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 730,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,646. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $478.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $492.84. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

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.