Qsemble Capital Management LP Invests $1.31 Million in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,793 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,308,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $509.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $1.37 on Friday, reaching $474.80. 579,024 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,104,367. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $466.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.30. The company has a market cap of $70.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

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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