L & S Advisors Inc Sells 14,800 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

L & S Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 71.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,840 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 14,800 shares during the period. L & S Advisors Inc's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $390,667,000 after purchasing an additional 23,018 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. 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 company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $7.78 on Thursday, reaching $519.96. 238,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 993,011. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $75.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company's 50-day moving average is $479.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.73.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 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, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board 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.