Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 57.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,956 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,799 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $11,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC now owns 528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 557 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 9,538 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,753 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 58,819 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,536,000 after purchasing an additional 5,989 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $323,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.3 %

NOC opened at $528.11 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $78.15 billion, a PE ratio of 36.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $534.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $499.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $470.88.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.34 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 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 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

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.