Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Sells 244 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV reduced its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,911 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Sapient Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $469.92 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $496.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $485.99. The company has a market capitalization of $67.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. 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 is currently 32.52%.

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.