475 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Purchased by ClearAlpha Technologies LP

ClearAlpha Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 475 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $251,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after buying an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth about $90,177,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $74,206,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 113.6% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 296,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,409,000 after acquiring an additional 157,854 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $474,276,000 after purchasing an additional 150,367 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $484.64 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $70.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $517.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $487.46.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The firm had revenue of $10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Susquehanna increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. Company insiders own 0.22% 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.