Balboa Wealth Partners Sells 243 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Balboa Wealth Partners lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 780 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Balboa Wealth Partners’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 31.1% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $234,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 40.2% during the 3rd quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 1,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $838,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Simmons Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.5% in the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 1,176 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were 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 directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % 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 ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $491.20 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $471.57 and a 200 day moving average of $494.67.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase 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.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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.