First Horizon Advisors Inc. Sells 640 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 42.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 640 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 154.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,224,000 after acquiring an additional 95,724 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 291 shares of company stock worth $129,184. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NOC opened at $449.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $470.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $497.29. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

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.