Norinchukin Bank The Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Norinchukin Bank The lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,697 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 712 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents 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 valued at $2,127,182 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $8.61 on Thursday, reaching $464.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,805,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 888,359. 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 price of $490.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $491.13. The firm has a market cap of $66.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. 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 (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com lowered Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $542.94.

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.