AQR Capital Management LLC Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 104.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,581 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 126,063 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.17% of Northrop Grumman worth $107,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $524.31 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $77.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.67, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $534.61. The business has a fifty day moving average of $501.74 and a 200 day moving average of $471.28.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $523.20.

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.