Western Wealth Management LLC Sells 903 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Western Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,966 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 903 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $613,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $462.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $459.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.26. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The company has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 55.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price target (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

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.