Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $77.47 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 38.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,082 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 45,458 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.11% of Northrop Grumman worth $77,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after buying an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,954,452,000 after acquiring an additional 23,808 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,317,402,000 after acquiring an additional 109,308 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $10.31 on Friday, hitting $473.38. 1,329,267 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,333. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.13 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $491.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $489.95. 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 (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $542.94.

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.