Gotham Asset Management LLC Buys 4,729 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 52.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,737 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,729 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 2,770 shares during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $22,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,786 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,132,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $284,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $471.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $498.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $486.49. The stock has a market cap of $67.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.52%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,632. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.