National Bank of Canada FI Cuts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of 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 issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.38.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $468.42 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $465.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. 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%.

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.