Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC Purchases 187 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,163 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $486.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.44. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current 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 shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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.