Oak Thistle LLC Buys Shares of 763 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Oak Thistle LLC 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 SEC. The institutional investor purchased 763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on 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, UBS Group raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $550.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $480.29 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 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 company has a market cap of $69.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.76, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $482.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.47.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.