American Capital Advisory LLC Lowers Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

American Capital Advisory LLC cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 2,438 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 38 shares during the quarter. American Capital Advisory LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 154.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,724 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $468.75 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $67.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $477.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $498.99. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.31.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $662,868 in the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Northrop Grumman

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.