Quarry LP Boosts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Quarry LP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1,823.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,135 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,076 shares during the quarter. Quarry LP's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 16,660 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $7,818,000 after purchasing an additional 2,770 shares in the last quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP now owns 48,367 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $22,698,000 after buying an additional 1,786 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,132,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after buying an additional 21,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $3.71 on Friday, reaching $490.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,067,516 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,580. The business's 50 day moving average is $495.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $488.98. 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 company has a market cap of $70.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.31.

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.