Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases New Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,056,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $52,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NOC opened at $484.64 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $517.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $487.46. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $70.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 51.05%.

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.