Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Sells 485 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 485 shares during the quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.5 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $497.13 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $478.66 and its 200 day moving average is $495.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.43 billion, a PE ratio of 30.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.96 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $663,859. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, January 19th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $595.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $550.94.

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.