OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Purchases 1,012 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,975 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $226,250,000 after purchasing an additional 371,814 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $171,580,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $813,599,000 after purchasing an additional 343,018 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NOC opened at $457.12 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $497.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $486.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 32.52%.

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.