Sfmg LLC Sells 92 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sfmg LLC lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 724 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 92 shares during the period. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $308,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 198.8% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 974 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 2,102 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 4,933 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman 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. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $494.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $451.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $66.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.52, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.35. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $459.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $464.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

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.