HHM Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 477.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $60,000 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 the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,222 shares of company stock valued at $647,025. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $487.87 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $478.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $498.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $70.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. Citigroup upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.31.

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.