Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,134,711 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 239,870 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 1.47% of Northrop Grumman worth $1,001,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NOC opened at $512.83 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $478.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.