Blair William & Co. IL Has $8.50 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Blair William & Co. IL reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,105 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,196 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $171,580,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 225.8% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $153,926,000 after acquiring an additional 227,314 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,370,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7 %

NOC traded up $3.50 during trading on Thursday, reaching $515.68. 156,738 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 863,839. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock's 50-day moving average is $479.17 and its 200 day moving average is $492.73. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.65 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.06.

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.