Fox Hill Wealth Management Grows Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Fox Hill Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 47.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,182 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,666 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises 1.4% of Fox Hill Wealth Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Fox Hill Wealth Management’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,432,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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 report on Friday, January 31st. 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 price objective on the stock. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $489.64 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $473.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.79. The company has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.