Trexquant Investment LP Purchases 24,217 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 78.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,922 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,217 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $25,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. May Hill Capital LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $241,000. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 115.2% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 7,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,735,000 after buying an additional 4,260 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the period. National Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $336,000. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on NOC. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $500.00 to $575.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target 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. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $512.42 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $478.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $492.64. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $418.60 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $74.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued 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 return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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.