Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC Increases Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 46.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,403 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $658,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $3.67 during trading on Friday, hitting $458.54. 86,625 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 668,421. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $485.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.01. The stock has a market cap of $66.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $551.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.