Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 1,240 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,527 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,240 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $32,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 60.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 852 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.7% during the second quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,014 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 29.8% in the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 1,962 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $855,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 119.9% in the second quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,742 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 641.3% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 2,135 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $931,000 after buying an additional 1,847 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $560.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $1.01 on Tuesday, reaching $480.18. 746,957 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 859,672. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.96 billion, a PE ratio of 29.75, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $418.60 and a one year high of $555.57. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $511.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $487.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 51.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $666,461 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.