Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,377 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,576 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $38,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $234,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 2,585 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 848 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $447,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 836 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $441,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was 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 owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $486.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $471.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $494.49. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

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.