Toronto Dominion Bank Sells 98,890 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Toronto Dominion Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 59.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,678 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 98,890 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $36,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $191,173,000 after buying an additional 416,768 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $129,409,000 after purchasing an additional 157,854 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $474,276,000 after acquiring an additional 150,367 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors lowered Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $565.00 to $505.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $546.81.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company's stock, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $5.89 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $481.51. 1,303,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 862,407. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $509.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $487.92.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.