Stratos Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Stratos Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,076 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 287 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,444,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,222 shares of company stock worth $647,025. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NOC opened at $482.79 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $478.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $499.10.

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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback 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 buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally 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 was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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.