Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 22,102 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 159,200 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 22,102 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned approximately 0.11% of Northrop Grumman worth $81,512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 1,166 shares during the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $798,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,406 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $660,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $568.74 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $503.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $491.71. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $576.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 319 shares in the company, valued at $156,310. This represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.33.

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.