Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Purchases 1,379 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. AIA Group Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,938,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $827,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 133.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $980,000 after buying an additional 1,287 shares during the period. Finally, Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 40.8% in the 3rd quarter. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. now owns 3,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,933,000 after acquiring an additional 1,060 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,289 shares of company stock worth $685,273 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $496.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $72.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.76, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $521.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $486.55. 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 posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.