AlphaQuest LLC Has $1.77 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 59.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,774 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,403 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,771,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $487.22 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $469.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $495.11. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week 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 market cap of $70.53 billion, a PE ratio of 17.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.