London Co. of Virginia Has $198.63 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

London Co. of Virginia decreased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 423,255 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 26,456 shares during the period. London Co. of Virginia’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $198,629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $226,250,000 after acquiring an additional 371,814 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,580,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $813,599,000 after acquiring an additional 343,018 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $482.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.49 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $498.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $486.87. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio 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.