Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 92.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,509 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 187,326 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 274.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 41.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,403 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,853,000 after buying an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 28.1% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,814 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,485,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $87,889,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,538 shares of company stock valued at $2,143,475. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $4.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $488.62. 654,990 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 889,859. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $496.42 and a 200 day moving average of $487.90. The stock has a market cap of $70.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group cut 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

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.