Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $77.47 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 38.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 165,082 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,458 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.11% of Northrop Grumman worth $77,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $2.49 on Tuesday, reaching $480.82. 291,530 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 886,794. The company has a 50 day moving average of $492.65 and a 200 day moving average of $489.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. 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 current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 32.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.