Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Price Target Cut to $545.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $574.00 to $545.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the aerospace company’s stock.

NOC has been the topic of several other reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on 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 lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.75.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.3 %

NOC opened at $454.80 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $469.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $496.76. The firm has a market cap of $65.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 291 shares of company stock worth $129,184 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $970,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 16,856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,910,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $287,000. Challenger Wealth Management purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $618,000. Finally, American Trust grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 35.9% during the 4th quarter. American Trust now owns 2,084 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.