DRW Securities LLC Sells 1,042 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

DRW Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 50.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,029 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,042 shares during the quarter. DRW Securities LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $604,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $10.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $539.61. The company had a trading volume of 419,428 shares, compared to its average volume of 862,232. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $77.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $484.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $491.76. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.59.

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.