Money Concepts Capital Corp Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 440 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 28,004 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,788,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,876 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,571,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,063 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $662,868 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. 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 objective on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NOC opened at $466.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $67.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $477.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $499.22.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.