Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Reduced by Corient Private Wealth LLC

Corient Private Wealth LLC trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 172,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 35,026 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $80,720,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $486.10 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $471.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $494.23. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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 results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last quarter. 0.22% 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.