Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Position Reduced by Claro Advisors LLC

Claro Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,136 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 331 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth about $61,000. BOKF NA grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 11.2% in the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 3,779 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,647,000 after acquiring an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 24.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,041,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Group LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Group LLC now owns 763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $333,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE:NOC traded up $14.32 on Monday, hitting $473.01. The stock had a trading volume of 702,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,548. The stock has a market cap of $68.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $484.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $493.07. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on NOC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays dropped 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 shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $551.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.