Sentry Investment Management LLC Has $346,000 Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 740 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 59.4% in the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 7,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 2,753 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 41.4% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $1,514,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 21.6% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 11.0% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,890 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $451.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $66.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $459.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $464.22.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.50 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on NOC shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.