Lazard Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,882 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 828 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,514,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after acquiring an additional 56,807 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,954,452,000 after buying an additional 23,808 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after buying an additional 109,308 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $469.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $67.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $496.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $485.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.