Simmons Bank Sells 65 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Simmons Bank cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,111 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $521,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $522,000. abrdn plc boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 12,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,756,000 after buying an additional 2,747 shares in the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $264,000. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $229,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.1 %

NOC opened at $459.90 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $469.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $496.50. 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 company has a market capitalization of $66.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 291 shares of company stock worth $129,184. 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.