Haverford Trust Co Has $811,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Haverford Trust Co lowered its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,729 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 315 shares during the quarter. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $811,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,580,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 225.8% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $153,926,000 after purchasing an additional 227,314 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,370,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in 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 purchasing an additional 141,816 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $495.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $475.62 and a 200-day moving average of $492.94. The stock has a market cap of $71.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

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.