Appleton Partners Inc. MA Trims Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,687,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 154.7% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $83,224,000 after acquiring an additional 95,724 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $662,868 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

NOC opened at $468.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $477.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $498.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.