Avior Wealth Management LLC Sells 44 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Avior Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 764 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 2,141 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,131,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,335,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.5 %

NOC opened at $497.13 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $496.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.80, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna cut 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.94.

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.