Xponance Inc. Has $8.50 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Xponance Inc. lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,119 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 509 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,503,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 506 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $267,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 18,562 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,802,000 after acquiring an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4,969.7% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,853 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,035,000 after acquiring an additional 3,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,207 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $637,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased 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 note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased 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. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

NOC opened at $489.64 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $473.40 and a 200 day moving average of $493.79. The company has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.