Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.28 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $574.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $542.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 755 shares of company stock valued at $342,972 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $464.34 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $469.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $495.61. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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