Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Buys New Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,183 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $3,371,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.9% in the 4th 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 during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% during the fourth 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 period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $604,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% in 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 during the period. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $284,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC traded up $18.05 on Friday, reaching $534.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,178,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,794. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $481.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $491.44.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $543.65.

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.