Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Buys 57,571 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 61.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 150,960 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 57,571 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership owned approximately 0.10% of Northrop Grumman worth $70,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $171,580,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 225.8% in the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 327,998 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $153,926,000 after buying an additional 227,314 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $94,370,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $28.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $486.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,692,381 shares, compared to its average volume of 860,929. 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 has a 50 day moving average of $479.27 and a 200-day moving average of $492.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.16, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 1.69%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.