Optiver Holding B.V. Has $247,000 Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 276.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 527 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 387 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,677,781 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,949,556,000 after purchasing an additional 56,807 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,164,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,954,452,000 after purchasing an additional 23,808 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,025,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,417,850,000 after purchasing an additional 21,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,807,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,317,402,000 after purchasing an additional 109,308 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:NOC opened at $484.09 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $69.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $492.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $489.38.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $545.31.

Northrop Grumman 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.