Keybank National Association OH Reduces Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Keybank National Association OH reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,192 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 993 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $16,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of 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, 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $542.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 755 shares of company stock worth $342,972 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $10.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $474.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,188,398 shares, compared to its average volume of 997,238. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $68.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $469.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $495.46.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.