Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 1,904 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 143,922 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,904 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $67,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $390,667,000 after buying an additional 23,018 shares in the last quarter. NBW Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 8,806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 11,384 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,342,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $241,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,023 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $574.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.75.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $473.57 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $469.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $495.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

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, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 755 shares of company stock valued at $342,972. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.