Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 65.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 424 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 795 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $199,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $604,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% in the 4th quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,574,000 after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $475.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $493.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.