Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $8.44 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,810 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,602 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly 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. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.3 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $10.89 during trading on Monday, hitting $484.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,817,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 889,061. The stock's fifty day moving average is $491.64 and its 200 day moving average is $489.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS 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. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

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.