2,100 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Acquired by Neo Ivy Capital Management

Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,100 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $985,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $2.40 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $477.72. The stock had a trading volume of 331,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 902,925. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $494.14 and a 200-day moving average of $483.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $68.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS 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 company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $2.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 4,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,045,249 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.