Bank of Nova Scotia Has $51.40 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 109,529 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,171 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.08% of Northrop Grumman worth $51,401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded up $2.95 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $536.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 170,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 866,117. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $481.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $491.44. The stock has a market cap of $77.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on NOC shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $543.65.

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.