Arizona State Retirement System Has $20.80 Million Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,619 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $20,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 598 shares in the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,408,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 18,406 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $9,424,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Croban acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth $1,109,000. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,675 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Friday, hitting $514.65. 748,906 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 879,759. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $74.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $489.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $485.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 25.46%. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $550.00.

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.