Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,931 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 238 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $489.64 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $473.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.79. The company has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

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.