Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC Sells 416 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,007 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 416 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,635,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third 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 stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,171,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 104.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 246,581 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $107,260,000 after buying an additional 126,063 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $497.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $478.66 and its 200 day moving average is $495.86. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

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.