Founders Capital Management Sells 259 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Founders Capital Management lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,830 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 1.4% of Founders Capital Management’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Founders Capital Management’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,267,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth $61,000. BOKF NA increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 11.2% in the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 3,779 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.3% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after buying an additional 467 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna lowered their target price 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 Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NOC traded up $12.00 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $470.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 392,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,630. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.16, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $484.74 and its 200-day moving average is $493.07.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.