Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 5.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 91,696 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 4,790 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $48,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $31,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $53,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $546.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were 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. This represents a 68.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,255 shares of company stock worth $666,461 over the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NOC stock traded down $0.86 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $480.65. 25,060 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 858,905. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.83, a P/E/G 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $507.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $487.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are often a sign that the company’s management 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.