Donaldson Capital Management LLC Has $6.91 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 81.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 63,036 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,911,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Leavell Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.7% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 16,647 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,791,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.9% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,852 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 15.6% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 304 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $495.98 on Tuesday. 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 twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $71.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $470.47 and its 200 day moving average is $494.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on NOC shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

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 shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, 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. 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 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.