Rockland Trust Co. Sells 35 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Rockland Trust Co. reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 447 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 35 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $53,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $472.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $483.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $493.62. The company has a market cap of $68.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The company had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

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.