Forza Wealth Management LLC Sells 1,350 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Forza Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 67.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 650 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,350 shares during the quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $304,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $283,114,000. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 3,093 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. now owns 3,258 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,525,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE now owns 2,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,050 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $960,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $4.04 on Friday, hitting $455.44. 798,607 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 963,375. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $457.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $462.76.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced 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. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NOC. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $450.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $541.00 to $473.00 in a report on Friday, December 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $494.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.