Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.

Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 27.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 539 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $253,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,818,000 after acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 valued at $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $284,000. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.4% in the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 156,149 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,279,000 after acquiring an additional 66,638 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $472.67 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $68.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $496.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $485.48.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted 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). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group reduced 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, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.