BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Acquires 3,148 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,607 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,148 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $12,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NOC traded up $1.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $476.63. 339,773 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 902,623. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average of $494.48 and a 200-day moving average of $483.57. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,313 shares of company stock worth $2,045,249. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded 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, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.31.

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.