Marshall Wace LLP Sells 315,770 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Marshall Wace LLP lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 79.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 80,682 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 315,770 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $37,863,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,726 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $10,417,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,130,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 745 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 274.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company'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 transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company'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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $542.94.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $7.52 during trading on Thursday, hitting $465.13. The company had a trading volume of 608,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,102,995. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $490.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $491.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $67.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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.