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

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 189,391 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,730 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of Northrop Grumman worth $88,879,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 93.1% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 7,861 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,689,000 after acquiring an additional 3,791 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 43.8% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 105 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 41.2% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 476 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Quarterback LLC now owns 2,518 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,182,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 21,497 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $10,088,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.5 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $10.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $449.05. 1,005,865 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 937,221. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $65.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.35. 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 $471.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $497.75.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.56.

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.