Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Holdings Lifted by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 203.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,430 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,633 shares during the quarter. Aviva PLC owned approximately 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $38,214,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sapient Capital LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $962,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,472 shares of company stock worth $2,111,332 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 5.6 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $486.23 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $479.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.23.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 1.69%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.