Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,590 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) by 11.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,590 shares during the quarter. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,239,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 14,366,015 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,756,624,000 after buying an additional 122,593 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,131,490 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,705,682,000 after buying an additional 100,116 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.5% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,562,706 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,140,714,000 after buying an additional 339,889 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 65.9% in the third quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,142,005 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,007,854,000 after buying an additional 851,071 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.1% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,409,862 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $663,087,000 after acquiring an additional 29,441 shares during the last quarter. 84.32% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP David T. Perry sold 3,999 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.65, for a total value of $1,878,130.35. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 8,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,093,939.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP David T. Perry sold 3,999 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.65, for a total value of $1,878,130.35. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 8,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,093,939.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 2,810 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $467.58, for a total transaction of $1,313,899.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,593,499.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,534 shares of company stock valued at $4,934,622. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $448.90 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $416.23 and a 1-year high of $556.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $68.70 billion, a PE ratio of 14.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $463.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $495.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The aerospace company reported $7.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.57 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 13.38% and a return on equity of 28.29%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 21.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 27th were issued a $1.73 dividend. This represents a $6.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 24th. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $440.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $626.00 to $601.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 27th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $700.00 to $655.00 in a research report on Sunday, January 29th. Cowen lowered Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $500.00 to $478.00 in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $544.00 to $488.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $508.13.

About Northrop Grumman

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Northrop Grumman Corp. engages in the provision of advanced aircraft systems. It operates through the following segments: Aeronautics Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems, and Space Systems. The Aeronautics Systems segment is involved in the design, development, production, integration, sustainment, and modernization of advanced aircraft systems for the U.S.