First Foundation Advisors Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

First Foundation Advisors lessened its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,086 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 59 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.06.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $517.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $480.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $491.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.