Centiva Capital LP Sells 3,645 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Centiva Capital LP reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 78.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,018 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,645 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 166,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $87,889,000 after purchasing an additional 4,969 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $622,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,371 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,043 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 29,695 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $13,936,000 after buying an additional 1,691 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $1.54 on Friday, hitting $470.59. The company had a trading volume of 242,437 shares, compared to its average volume of 896,328. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $496.97 and a 200-day moving average of $485.99. 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 (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 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 company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.