Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Raises Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,343 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,097,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $70,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $503.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $480.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $462.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market capitalization of $71.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.31%.

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.