Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Has $859,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value 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 trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NOC opened at $487.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $469.88 and its 200-day moving average is $495.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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

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.