Zions Bancorporation N.A. Grows Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 38.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,160 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE NOC opened at $506.26 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $476.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders 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 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.