Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,108 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $494.71 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $71.61 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $470.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $494.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

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Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Susquehanna lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $542.88.

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.

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