Summit Financial LLC Purchases 245 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Summit Financial LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,153 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $512.83 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $478.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.59. The company has a market cap of $74.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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

Northrop Grumman 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.