Mission Wealth Management LP Sells 207 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Mission Wealth Management LP cut its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,984 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,801,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $485.09 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $463.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $465.75. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.92, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman 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.