Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Sells 2,902 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,625 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,902 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $27,512,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Sapient Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during 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 last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pflug Koory LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Pflug Koory LLC now owns 3,370 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares in the company, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,045,249 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE NOC traded up $3.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $478.45. 387,811 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 903,220. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $494.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $483.52. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $68.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 36.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $545.31.

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.