Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 66,532 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,728 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $31,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,653 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,519,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. IFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $742,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.4% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,307 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $217,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $517.54.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.3 %

NOC stock traded down $1.52 during trading on Monday, hitting $478.78. The company had a trading volume of 491,270 shares, compared to its average volume of 972,274. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $441.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $455.23. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The stock has a market cap of $70.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.49, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $2.06 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.