Capital Planning Advisors LLC Sells 87 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Capital Planning Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 884 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. Capital Planning Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,891,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the third quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PBMares Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $504.74 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $478.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $495.36. 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 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This 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 link. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

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.