SlateStone Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

SlateStone Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,024 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after purchasing an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $472.03 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The stock has a market cap of $69.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.19, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $460.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $497.23.

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.