Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Purchases 116 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 425 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. London Co. of Virginia acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,403,000. Finally, Phraction Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $677,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $0.88 during trading on Thursday, reaching $478.24. 256,235 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 940,874. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $457.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $461.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $71.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.58, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $541.00 to $473.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $450.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $494.33.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.