Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 34 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,520 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $171,580,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 225.8% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $153,926,000 after buying an additional 227,314 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $94,370,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $453,961,000 after acquiring an additional 170,976 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $486.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $70.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a P/E/G 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $479.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.64. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

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.