Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 42.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 369 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 267 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. now owns 1,808 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $848,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 77.1% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,362 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,517,000 after buying an additional 2,335 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 814.7% during the fourth quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 10,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,911,000 after buying an additional 9,320 shares during the period. BCGM Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. BCGM Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,492 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,046,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Equity Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This 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 the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 291 shares of company stock valued at $129,184. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.5 %

NOC opened at $461.03 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $469.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $497.05. 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 fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.