Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 82.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm 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.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $427,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $482.49 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $480.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $494.51. The company has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

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.