BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Raises Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 13.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,607 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,148 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $12,486,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 27.4% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,969 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,863,000 after acquiring an additional 854 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 652,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $306,292,000 after acquiring an additional 80,221 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 165.0% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 235,636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $110,582,000 after acquiring an additional 146,706 shares during the last quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 101.0% in the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $576,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $252,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $473.07 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $495.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $484.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $68.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 32.52%.

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.