Capital International Inc. CA Buys 15,516 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Capital International Inc. CA grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 95,427 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,516 shares during the period. Capital International Inc. CA owned 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $44,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th 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.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $8.19 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $472.27. 1,929,041 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,109,990. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $489.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $491.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $68.07 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The business 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NOC. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $544.24.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.