New Century Financial Group LLC Cuts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

New Century Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 944 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 85 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target 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. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $497.13 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $72.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.80, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $478.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $495.39. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.