Fifth Third Bancorp Has $10.62 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 14.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,743 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,447 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $10,621,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $20.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $517.22. 1,842,813 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,029. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $490.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $482.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 36.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,340 shares of company stock valued at $6,183,378 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.31.

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.