LRT Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

LRT Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 42.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,105 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,273 shares during the period. LRT Capital Management LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 3,371 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,582,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 29,695 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $13,936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,691 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 3,005 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,410,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, Talbot Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Talbot Financial LLC now owns 25,696 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $12,059,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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 note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.8%

NOC traded up $3.62 on Friday, hitting $472.67. The company had a trading volume of 1,148,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,111. The company has a market cap of $68.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $496.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $485.78.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31% 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.