New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,920 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 4,595 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $49,707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 3,926 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,842,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,476 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Attessa Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $642,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 59,189 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $27,899,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 9,896 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,644,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on NOC. Susquehanna reduced their price target 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $7.74 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $433.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,784,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 927,733. 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 company has a market capitalization of $62.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $473.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $498.62.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to repurchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.