James Hambro & Partners LLP Sells 190 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

James Hambro & Partners LLP lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,017 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 190 shares during the period. James Hambro & Partners LLP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $477,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $497.13 on Monday. The firm 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $478.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $496.86. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Susquehanna lowered 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. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $550.94.

Insider Activity

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

Northrop Grumman 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.