Avalon Trust Co Lowers Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Avalon Trust Co decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,806 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Avalon Trust Co’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $171,580,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $94,370,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,171,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $486.10 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $471.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $494.37. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $70.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. 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 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

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

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.