Covestor Ltd Has $122,000 Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Covestor Ltd decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 261 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 43 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $122,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $534.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $76.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. 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 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $481.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $491.66.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $543.65.

About Northrop Grumman

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.