Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 31.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,949,556,000 after buying an additional 56,807 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position 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 buying an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during 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 boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,317,402,000 after buying an additional 109,308 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,849 shares of company stock worth $1,831,461. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.3%

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $483.15 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $492.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $482.36. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for 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%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

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.