PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 185,139 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,677 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Northrop Grumman worth $86,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, 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 transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm'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 in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.5 %

NOC stock opened at $487.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $469.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $495.11. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 (DPR) is 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman 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.

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