XTX Topco Ltd Has $1.25 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 22.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,665 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 291.7% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the business'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 approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $600.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $548.88.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

NOC traded up $2.45 on Friday, reaching $539.96. 1,102,225 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 866,793. The company has a market cap of $77.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company's 50 day moving average is $488.43 and its 200-day moving average is $492.14.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS 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%. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 29.08%.

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.