Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 257,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 14,503 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $120,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $70,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $72,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE:NOC traded up $3.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $474.48. 441,898 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 984,069. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $460.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.12. The firm has a market cap of $70.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.16, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.50 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $497.23.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.