Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 25.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 339 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 116 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth $90,177,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth $74,206,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $528.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $523.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $484.96. The stock has a market cap of $77.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 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, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.05%.

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.