Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 12,951 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 885 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,063,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State of Wyoming boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. IMA Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 196.3% during the 2nd quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 19.1% in the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $462.58 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $459.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $464.26. The company has a market capitalization of $68.55 billion, a PE ratio of 34.32, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business’s revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.50 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $494.33.

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.