Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 164 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,394,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 755 shares of company stock valued at $342,972 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $574.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.75.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.9 %

NYSE NOC opened at $464.34 on Wednesday. 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 twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $67.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $469.43 and its 200 day moving average is $495.61.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.