Copley Financial Group Inc. Buys New Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 908 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $546.81.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE NOC traded down $1.77 during trading on Friday, reaching $479.74. 78,863 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 858,951. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.90 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $507.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $487.88.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a stock 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 board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.