Tidal Investments LLC Has $2.85 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 41.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,403 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $191,173,000 after acquiring an additional 416,768 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $129,409,000 after buying an additional 157,854 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $553.27.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $2.61 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $482.61. 859,269 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 861,462. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The business's 50-day moving average is $506.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $488.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. 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.