700 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Acquired by one8zero8 LLC

one8zero8 LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 700 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC traded down $2.54 on Thursday, reaching $488.98. The stock had a trading volume of 685,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 824,089. 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 50-day moving average of $473.98 and a 200-day moving average of $493.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $70.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

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.