Sfmg LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sfmg LLC reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 724 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 70,532.5% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 637,105 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $347,611,000 after purchasing an additional 636,203 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $165,786,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $451.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.96 billion, a PE ratio of 33.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $459.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $464.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 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. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 55.49%.

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.