TIAA Trust National Association Lowers Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

TIAA Trust National Association reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,187 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 115 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE NOC opened at $506.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $73.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $476.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.88.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.