Arizona State Retirement System Sells 389 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 39,922 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 389 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $18,735,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $31,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on NOC. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.75.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.3 %

NOC opened at $474.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $469.50 and its 200 day moving average is $495.46. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $418.60 and a fifty-two week high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 722 shares of company stock valued at $327,086. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.