111 Capital Acquires Shares of 1,425 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

111 Capital bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,425 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $669,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 3,849 shares of company stock worth $1,831,461 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded down $1.62 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $483.15. 765,316 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 894,986. 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 capitalization of $69.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company's 50-day moving average is $492.91 and its 200 day moving average is $482.36. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 36.46%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.