Neo Ivy Capital Management Purchases New Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,100 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $985,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $475.66. The company had a trading volume of 924,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,885. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The business's 50 day moving average price is $494.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $483.57. The firm has a market cap of $68.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.46%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,045,249. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company 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.