Retirement Systems of Alabama Sells 3,675 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Retirement Systems of Alabama trimmed its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,973 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,675 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned approximately 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $47,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the business'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 transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $5.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $486.22. 714,410 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,003,827. The business has a 50 day moving average of $463.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $465.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.00, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 52.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $503.00.

About Northrop Grumman

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.