Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Position Reduced by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 38.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,324 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 828 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $427,444,000 after purchasing an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $550.94.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $1.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $482.49. 1,091,510 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 775,655. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $481.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.38. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a PEG ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently 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.