Lake Street Private Wealth LLC Raises Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Lake Street Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,348 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 581 shares during the period. Lake Street Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,918,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $1.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $482.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,091,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 573,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $480.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $494.10.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following 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 through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.