National Bank of Canada FI Sells 51,578 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 47.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 58,265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 51,578 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $27,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $509.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total transaction of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $468.42 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The stock has a market cap of $69.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.79, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $465.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $465.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The company 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%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. 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.