Swiss National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 392,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 24,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.27% of Northrop Grumman worth $184,171,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 3.4 %

NOC stock opened at $491.20 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $471.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $494.67. The company has a market capitalization of $71.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.