Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,234 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 6,259 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,938,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 9.9% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 13,838 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,494,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 92,836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $43,567,000 after acquiring an additional 1,140 shares during the period. Old North State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.0% during the 4th quarter. Old North State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, 1858 Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. 1858 Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,783 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $837,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE NOC opened at $468.75 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $477.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $498.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $67.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS 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 analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $662,868. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine equities 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, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.31.

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.