Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Stratos Investment Management LLC

Stratos Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,076 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 287 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,444,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $112,222,000 after purchasing an additional 5,334 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% in the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,574,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,222 shares of company stock valued at $647,025. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $482.79 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $478.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $499.10. The company has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. 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 quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 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 buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically 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.