Trexquant Investment LP Acquires 24,217 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 78.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,922 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,217 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $25,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. 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 valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $171,580,000. Prudential Financial Inc. raised 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 valued at $153,926,000 after buying an additional 227,314 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $94,370,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 967,335 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $453,961,000 after buying an additional 170,976 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $3.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $515.20. The company had a trading volume of 1,055,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 867,320. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $479.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.58 billion, a PE ratio of 18.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released 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%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.