L & S Advisors Inc Has $2.74 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

L & S Advisors Inc trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 71.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,840 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 14,800 shares during the quarter. L & S Advisors Inc’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $604,000. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,316.9% during the fourth quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI now owns 16,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,574,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.4% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,279,000 after buying an additional 66,638 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

NOC stock opened at $511.86 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $478.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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%. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.