Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Decreases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,212 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $622,000. Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 143.2% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 4,902 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,300,000 after purchasing an additional 2,886 shares in the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $237,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 89.3% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 1,257 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $590,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $462.68 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $485.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $492.01. The company has a market capitalization of $67.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. 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, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. 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 report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $551.40.

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.