Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,340 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,975,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Grove Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 40.5% in the fourth quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 260 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. IAM Advisory LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 3,964 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,860,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 154.6% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,683 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $790,000 after buying an additional 1,022 shares during the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 936 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 8,546 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,011,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $482.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $480.55 and a 200-day moving average of $494.10.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $663,859 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.