Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Courier Capital LLC

Courier Capital LLC cut its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 4,279 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 799 shares during the quarter. Courier Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,008,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other 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 transaction of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Susquehanna cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $551.40.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 3.1 %

NYSE NOC traded up $14.40 on Monday, reaching $473.09. The company had a trading volume of 964,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 790,472. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $484.74 and a 200-day moving average of $493.07. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

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.