Man Group plc Has $125.05 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Man Group plc increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 39.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 266,465 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 75,141 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned approximately 0.18% of Northrop Grumman worth $125,049,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of 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. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,632 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $471.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $67.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $498.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $486.49.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced 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). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

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.

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