Dakota Wealth Management Decreases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Dakota Wealth Management reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 24.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,016 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,590 shares during the quarter. Dakota Wealth Management’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $502.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $73.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $478.98 and its 200 day moving average is $495.31. 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 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.