T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Reduces Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 87.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 457,927 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $30,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $473.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $491.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $489.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. 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 (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.52%.

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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