Tradition Wealth Management LLC Sells 291 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Tradition Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 37.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $226,250,000 after acquiring an additional 371,814 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $171,580,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 225.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $153,926,000 after buying an additional 227,314 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $530.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $489.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $491.45.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company 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.