Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan Takes $1.14 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,436 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,143,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,726 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $10,417,000 after purchasing an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $1,130,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 745 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 274.1% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,566 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,880 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, 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 transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % 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 firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $2.45 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $539.96. The company had a trading volume of 1,102,225 shares, compared to its average volume of 865,399. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $488.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $491.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $548.88.

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.