California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 3,219 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 778,098 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,219 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.52% of Northrop Grumman worth $364,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,191 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $964,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,468 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,407,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,732 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 575 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $241,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $8.40 on Monday, hitting $470.98. 1,003,136 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 991,342. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average of $459.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $464.77. The company has a market capitalization of $69.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.50 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Susquehanna lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $497.23.

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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