New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 756 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 190,147 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.13% of Northrop Grumman worth $97,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 40,619 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $20,797,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.6% in the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 18,406 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $9,424,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Croban acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at $1,109,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman 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 transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 16,569 shares of company stock worth $8,323,150 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $514.65 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $74.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.11 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $555.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $489.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $485.75.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for 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%. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 36.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price target on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.

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