Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Donaldson Capital Management LLC

Donaldson Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 81.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,726 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 63,036 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $542.88.

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Northrop Grumman Stock Up 3.4 %

NOC stock traded up $16.10 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $491.20. 1,330,480 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 822,229. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $471.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $494.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other 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 directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.