Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 254 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,881 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $881,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. State of Wyoming grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 76.5% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 196.3% in the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’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 $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’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 $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $451.82 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $459.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $464.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $66.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business 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 firm earned $7.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.