Mackenzie Financial Corp Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 383,066 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,142 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.26% of Northrop Grumman worth $179,329,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $29,000. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 76.5% in the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 196.3% in the second quarter. IMA Wealth Inc. now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.1% during the third quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 131 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $494.33.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $1.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $450.21. The company had a trading volume of 953,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,176. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.48, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.35. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $459.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $464.22.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 55.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, 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 transaction of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman 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.