Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Bought by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 154.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 157,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 95,724 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.11% of Northrop Grumman worth $83,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $427,444,000 after acquiring an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 683,427 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $297,937,000 after acquiring an additional 125,262 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NOC stock traded down $5.92 on Friday, hitting $473.65. The stock had a trading volume of 915,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,586. The company's 50 day moving average price is $512.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $487.83. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 51.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $550.56.

About Northrop Grumman

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.