Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,393 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 32 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 101,282 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $47,531,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,067,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 2,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. New Hampshire Trust lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 5,322 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 27,156 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,744,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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. Barclays cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price 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 equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $502.03 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $478.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.