Ocean Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Ocean Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,443 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman accounts for approximately 1.4% of Ocean Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Ocean Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 59.4% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,305,000 after purchasing an additional 2,753 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 41.4% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,541,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,514,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.6% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.0% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,890 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $478.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $457.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $461.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89. The company has a market capitalization of $71.86 billion, a PE ratio of 35.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 55.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $541.00 to $473.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $494.33.

About Northrop Grumman

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.