Verity Asset Management Inc. Sells 304 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Verity Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 33.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in 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 currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 1,222 shares of company stock worth $647,025 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.0 %

NOC stock opened at $482.79 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $478.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $499.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.31.

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.