Richwood Investment Advisors LLC Has $1.58 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,374 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 1.3% of Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.6% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 242,983 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $128,312,000 after buying an additional 9,353 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $273,000. GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, Nwam LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $761,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $475.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.32. 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 $71.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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.