Virtu Financial LLC Has $1.15 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,456 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $171,580,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,370,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,171,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of 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 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business’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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was 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 $2,126,405 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $492.25 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $475.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $493.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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

Northrop Grumman 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.