Brave Asset Management Inc. Sells 37 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Brave Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOCFree Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 3,798 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 37 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up approximately 0.6% of Brave Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Brave Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,782,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 24.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,387 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,041,000 after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 135.9% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $581,000 after acquiring an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 22.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $297,937,000 after purchasing an additional 125,262 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $21,492,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.94.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Northrop Grumman

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 shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % 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 hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $472.19 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $483.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.62. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $68.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOCGet Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC)

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