Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 82.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 732 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,514 shares during the period. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $1,131,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 3rd 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,222 shares of company stock valued at $648,786. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $456.38. The stock had a trading volume of 535,110 shares, compared to its average volume of 652,509. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $488.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $492.28. The company has a market capitalization of $66.49 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase 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.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $549.93.

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.