The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 1,853 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,967 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,853 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $43,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 212,514 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $112,222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,334 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 7,458 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,938,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Aviso Wealth Management increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 110.7% in the 2nd quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,133,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 133.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $980,000 after acquiring an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $489.08 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $517.90 and a 200 day moving average of $487.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. 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 stock has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.30, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors cut Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $667,727 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.