Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV Decreases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 107 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 27 shares during the quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $50,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 24.6% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.6% in the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 242,983 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $128,312,000 after acquiring an additional 9,353 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $273,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $475.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $493.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given 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 1.67%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.