Cerity Partners LLC Sells 430 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,113 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 430 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $12,561,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 over the last ninety days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $512.98 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $74.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $480.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $491.71. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded 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 report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

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.