Segment Wealth Management LLC Sells 150 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Segment Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 18.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 655 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ARS Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC now owns 21,667 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,168,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 101,282 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $47,531,000 after acquiring an additional 1,321 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,404 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,067,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. now owns 2,165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Hampshire Trust boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 5,322 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,498,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $504.16 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $73.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $479.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $494.82. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on NOC. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

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.