Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC Sells 235 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 1,375 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 3,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 198.7% during the 4th quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. now owns 4,002 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after buying an additional 2,662 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,088,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $487.22 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company’s 50 day moving average is $469.88 and its 200 day moving average is $495.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna cut their price objective 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. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.