Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Oakworth Capital Inc.

Oakworth Capital Inc. cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 25.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 208 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $97,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $308,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 198.8% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 974 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 2,102 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $984,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,309,000 after buying an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,407,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $494.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 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.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE NOC opened at $451.82 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $459.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $464.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.52, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

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.