573 Shares in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Purchased by Oxford Asset Management LLP

Oxford Asset Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 573 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $268,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $514.33.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $0.68 on Friday, reaching $465.83. 211,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 966,227. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $68.94 billion, a PE ratio of 32.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $468.58 and its 200-day moving average is $465.14. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 52.31%.

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.