Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,654 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 396 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after acquiring an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,765,543,000 after acquiring an additional 23,398 shares during the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,271,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,063,364,000 after acquiring an additional 80,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $590,137,000 after purchasing an additional 16,275 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $9.73 during trading on Friday, hitting $480.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,164,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 785,878. The company has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average is $441.47 and its 200 day moving average is $455.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.34 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NOC. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $515.07.

Northrop Grumman 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.