Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $6.51 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,882 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 828 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lionshead Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $357,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 145.2% during 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 buying an additional 22,831 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,311 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,958,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 129.2% during the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 29,042 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $13,629,000 after buying an additional 16,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 52.5% during the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 13,737 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,447,000 after buying an additional 4,729 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman 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 transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE:NOC traded up $6.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $477.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 755,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,113,542. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $68.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business's 50-day moving average is $496.43 and its 200-day moving average is $485.22.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 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 firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

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.