Vident Advisory LLC Increases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 52,895 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,642 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $24,823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 450,858 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $171,580,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.8%

NOC opened at $472.67 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $496.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $485.48. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.31.

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.