3,256 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Bought by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 3,256 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,528,000. Northrop Grumman makes up 0.7% of AXQ Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Intellus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $341,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 65,194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,601,000 after buying an additional 1,836 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 13.8% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 9,610 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,510,000 after buying an additional 1,166 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 12,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,091,000 after buying an additional 4,066 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,456 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $475.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.53. The company has a market capitalization of $71.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.88.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.