Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 806 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,120 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 806 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $13,666,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded up $11.80 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $506.88. The stock had a trading volume of 991,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 829,560. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $475.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $492.94. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $73.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

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Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the aerospace company to buy up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. The trade was a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $542.88.

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.