Sit Investment Associates Inc. Sells 350 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,134 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 9,419 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,974,000 after purchasing an additional 4,964 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 26.3% in the third quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,732 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $914,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.0% during the third quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 19,433 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,262,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 154.7% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,224,000 after buying an additional 95,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 27,859 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,712,000 after acquiring an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 5.6 %

NYSE NOC opened at $486.23 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $479.27 and a 200-day moving average of $492.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $70.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,472 shares of company stock worth $2,111,332. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.