Apella Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Apella Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 128.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the quarter. Apella Capital LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,131,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,069,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the third quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Barclays cut their price target 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $7.99 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $480.29. 705,214 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 743,931. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm 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 twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $69.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter last year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued 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 1.72%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 51.05%.

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.