Magnetar Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 4,807 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,096,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Capital International Investors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,765,543,000 after purchasing an additional 23,398 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,271,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,063,364,000 after purchasing an additional 80,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $590,137,000 after purchasing an additional 16,275 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $533.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $78.91 billion, a PE ratio of 37.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $498.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $470.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $534.61.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 57.62%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock worth $1,393,028 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

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.