Cinctive Capital Management LP Takes Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Cinctive Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,738 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,974,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 63.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 957 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $212,000. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,193 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,828,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,984 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.0% in the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,710 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,489,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $485.02 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $70.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.05, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $515.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $487.66.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $667,727. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors downgraded Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $550.56.

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.