California State Teachers Retirement System Sells 6,005 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 228,900 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 6,005 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.16% of Northrop Grumman worth $107,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Sapient Capital LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $933,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $484.09 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $492.65 and a 200-day moving average of $489.38.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 32.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $545.31.

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.

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