Empire Life Investments Inc. Has $29.73 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Empire Life Investments Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,346 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,355 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up about 1.9% of Empire Life Investments Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Empire Life Investments Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $29,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third 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. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $66,171,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $622,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 154.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 157,601 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $83,224,000 after purchasing an additional 95,724 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded down $7.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $433.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,784,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 927,733. The company has a market capitalization of $62.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $473.36 and a 200-day moving average of $498.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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.