Old North State Wealth Management LLC Has $487,000 Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Old North State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 14.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,033 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Old North State Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,222 shares of company stock worth $647,025 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $482.79 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $478.26 and a 200-day moving average of $499.10. The company has a market cap of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.