FourThought Financial Partners LLC Decreases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC decreased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,130,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $5.91 on Friday, hitting $469.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,443,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,144,324. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a PE ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $464.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $465.81.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.31%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

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.