Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 239,870 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,134,711 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 239,870 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,001,799,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after buying an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $604,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% during the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,574,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,279,000 after purchasing an additional 66,638 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, March 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $512.83 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $478.97 and a 200-day moving average of $492.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.