Cozad Asset Management Inc. Has $274,000 Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 583 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 40 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $489.64 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $473.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.79. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.