Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Flputnam Investment Management Co.

Flputnam Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,881 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Capital Analysts LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $655,000. Keel Point LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 383,066 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $179,329,000 after buying an additional 5,142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,137 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $494.33.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $451.82 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $459.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.52, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company 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.