774 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Bought by Bay Capital Advisors LLC

Bay Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 774 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $363,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $495.25 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.69 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $475.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Barclays cut 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. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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.