Toronto Dominion Bank Acquires 4,931 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,609 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 4,931 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank owned approximately 0.05% of Northrop Grumman worth $34,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 25,920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,164,000 after buying an additional 3,826 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 23,384 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,974,000 after purchasing an additional 2,333 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $19,072,000 after purchasing an additional 7,026 shares during the last quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $949,000. Finally, Malaga Cove Capital LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Malaga Cove Capital LLC now owns 487 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $472.67 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $68.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $496.53 and its 200 day moving average is $485.48.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. UBS Group dropped their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.