Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $201,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 428 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $513.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $477.61 and its 200 day moving average is $493.12. The company has a market cap of $74.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a P/E/G 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are 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.