Logan Capital Management Inc. Has $3.08 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Logan Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,561 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 225 shares during the period. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Lionshead Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $357,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 145.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 38,560 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $18,096,000 after acquiring an additional 22,831 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,311 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 129.2% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,042 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,629,000 after acquiring an additional 16,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 13,737 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,447,000 after purchasing an additional 4,729 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $479.27 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $498.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $486.59. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $68.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted 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). 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. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.