Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Schechter Investment Advisors LLC

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 690 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 179 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 722 shares of company stock worth $327,086. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.75.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $474.71 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $469.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $495.46. The stock has a market cap of $68.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

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.