Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Decreases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 15,020 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,932,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $484.64 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $517.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $487.46. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $70.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $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 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 28th. TD Cowen raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $521.00 to $587.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $667,727. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.