Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,842 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 599 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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 raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.5 %

NOC stock opened at $502.03 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $478.61 and its 200 day moving average is $495.36. The firm has a market cap of $73.15 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $10 billion for 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%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.