NS Partners Ltd Sells 298 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

NS Partners Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 33,369 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 298 shares during the period. NS Partners Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $15,660,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $487.22 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $469.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $495.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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

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.