National Bank of Canada FI Acquires 7,280 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 61,877 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 7,280 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $26,914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $462,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renasant Bank boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Renasant Bank now owns 743 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.8 %

NOC opened at $515.43 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $478.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $465.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $528.76.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

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.