Norinchukin Bank The Acquires 712 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Norinchukin Bank The grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,697 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 712 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,949,556,000 after buying an additional 56,807 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the 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 owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. 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 report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, 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. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $548.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $539.96 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $488.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $491.81. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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%.

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.