Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 181,302 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 44,839 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.13% of Northrop Grumman worth $85,083,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $226,250,000 after acquiring an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $171,580,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $813,599,000 after acquiring an additional 343,018 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,849 shares of company stock worth $1,831,461. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $2.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $481.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 215,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 900,518. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $69.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The business's fifty day moving average price is $493.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $483.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

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.