SlateStone Wealth LLC Grows Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

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

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $70,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $497.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $472.03 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year 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 company’s 50-day moving average is $460.67 and its 200 day moving average is $465.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

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.