Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Holdings Lowered by PDS Planning Inc

PDS Planning Inc lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 740 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $346,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. London Co. of Virginia bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after buying an additional 319,109 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, 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 is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7 %

NOC stock traded up $3.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $474.48. 441,898 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 984,069. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89. The company has a market cap of $70.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $460.10 and its 200-day moving average is $465.12.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.49%.

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.