The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 84,820 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,054 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $36,977,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after buying an additional 621,636 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares during the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $90,177,000. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth about $83,182,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

NOC stock opened at $526.79 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $505.21 and a 200 day moving average of $472.31. The firm has a market cap of $77.96 billion, a PE ratio of 36.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $534.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.