Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,829 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $502.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $478.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $495.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 1.64%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays reduced their price objective on 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. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.