CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Cuts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,155 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,847 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $22,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.24.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $8.19 on Wednesday, reaching $472.27. 1,929,122 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,606. The firm's 50-day moving average is $489.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $491.26. The company has a market capitalization of $68.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, 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 quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 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.