Moore Capital Management LP Invests $15.33 Million in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Moore Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 33,198 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,328,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 177,660 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $82,029,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,023,000. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 4,957 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,391,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 16,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,562,000 after purchasing an additional 2,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,804 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $581.00 to $569.00 in a research report on Friday, June 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $502.00 to $485.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $655.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $506.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $437.87, for a total transaction of $731,242.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,379,765.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC traded down $8.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $422.72. The stock had a trading volume of 768,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 527,165. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $441.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $450.72. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $420.95 and a 12-month high of $556.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $63.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.52.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The aerospace company reported $5.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.31 by $0.03. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.90% and a net margin of 12.27%. The company had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.32 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 22.63 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 13th. Investors of record on Monday, August 28th will be given a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 25th. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.78%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems in the United States and internationally. 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.