Strs Ohio Grows Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,505 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $19,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 70,532.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 637,105 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $347,611,000 after purchasing an additional 636,203 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,975,754,000 after buying an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $165,786,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $450.00 target price (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $494.33.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $430,103.35. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $1.47 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $451.82. 818,187 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 990,097. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The stock has a market cap of $66.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a 50 day moving average of $459.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $464.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.50 EPS. Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.49%.

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.