Vontobel Holding Ltd. Lowers Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 75.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 532 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,659 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. London Co. of Virginia bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $517,028,000 after purchasing an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $154,720,000 after buying an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $450.00 price target (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $497.23.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $474.57. 1,091,637 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 997,757. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The firm has a market cap of $70.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock's fifty day moving average is $461.24 and its 200 day moving average is $465.55.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.49%.

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.