Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Acquired by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 124.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,177 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,022,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 337.1% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 482,112 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $226,250,000 after buying an additional 371,814 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $171,580,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,733,680 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $813,599,000 after acquiring an additional 343,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 225.8% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $153,926,000 after acquiring an additional 227,314 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $472.27 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $68.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $490.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $491.13.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of 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. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $544.24.

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.