Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Increases Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 19.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,127 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,325 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $13,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,087,913 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $474,276,000 after buying an additional 150,367 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 809,445 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $427,444,000 after buying an additional 3,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,448,000 after buying an additional 372,500 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $546.81.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $5.89 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $481.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,303,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 862,407. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $509.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $487.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total transaction of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461. 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.