Insider Selling: Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Director Sells 33 Shares of Stock

Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 33 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $456.74, for a total value of $15,072.42. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 4,139 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,890,446.86. This trade represents a 0.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $2.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $452.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,099,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 798,761. 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. The firm has a market cap of $65.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $488.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $492.28.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $549.93.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 143.2% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,902 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,300,000 after buying an additional 2,886 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $237,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 89.3% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $87,889,000 after buying an additional 4,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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.