CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co decreased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 47,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,847 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $22,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $171,580,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 225.8% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $153,926,000 after purchasing an additional 227,314 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $94,370,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $453,961,000 after buying an additional 170,976 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $539.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $488.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $491.81.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $548.88.

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.