Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Has $8.44 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,810 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,602 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $1,130,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.5% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 274.1% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,355,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 41.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 5,403 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,853,000 after buying an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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 the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value 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 approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine equities 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC traded down $1.90 on Wednesday, reaching $480.20. The company had a trading volume of 206,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 887,283. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $69.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a fifty day moving average of $493.54 and a 200-day moving average of $489.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

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.