Oak Grove Capital LLC Invests $516,000 in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Oak Grove Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 1,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $516,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after acquiring an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after purchasing an additional 18,791 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after purchasing an additional 141,816 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $390,667,000 after purchasing an additional 23,018 shares during the period. Finally, 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 worth $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.75.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 755 shares of company stock worth $342,972 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $464.34 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $469.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $495.61. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $67.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.