Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Catalyst Financial Partners LLC

Catalyst Financial Partners LLC lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,467 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 34 shares during the period. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $688,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Attessa Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $642,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 59,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $27,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 9,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,644,000 after purchasing an additional 1,883 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 3,382 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 677 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $318,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NOC. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $454.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average is $476.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.78. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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, 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%. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.