Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV Raises Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up approximately 2.8% of Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Asset Planning Services Inc. LA ADV’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.6% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.5% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 23,230 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,127,000 after buying an additional 5,285 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.2% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 709 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 74.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 5,167 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,253,000 after buying an additional 2,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 767 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related 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 $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $502.03 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $478.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $495.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

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.