AXQ Capital LP Buys Shares of 3,256 Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

AXQ Capital LP bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,256 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,528,000. Northrop Grumman makes up 0.7% of AXQ Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 6,980 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after acquiring an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,229 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $649,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 242,983 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $128,312,000 after acquiring an additional 9,353 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,394,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Investment Consultants LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $273,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $492.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $475.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.53. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.08%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Citigroup upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Argus upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment 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, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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.