WBH Advisory Inc. Has $970,000 Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

WBH Advisory Inc. lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,067 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 183 shares during the quarter. WBH Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $970,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,481,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.9% during the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,161 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 233,703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $123,412,000 after purchasing an additional 5,089 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.0% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 84,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,861,000 after purchasing an additional 8,416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $438.70 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. 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 moving average price of $474.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $499.39. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

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.