Holderness Investments Co. Sells 123 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Holderness Investments Co. lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,961 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 123 shares during the period. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $488.98 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $474.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.74. The stock has a market cap of $70.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

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.