Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,931 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 238 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $489.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $473.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.79. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Susquehanna dropped their price target 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. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman 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.