Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Raises Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 529 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 29 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $284,000. Trexquant Investment LP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 78.9% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 54,922 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,774,000 after buying an additional 24,217 shares in the last quarter. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $241,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 115.2% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 7,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,735,000 after acquiring an additional 4,260 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $486.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.64. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.