National Pension Service Has $144.95 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

National Pension Service boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 309,635 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,047 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.21% of Northrop Grumman worth $144,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. TheStreet lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "b+" rating to a "c+" rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NOC stock traded down $2.38 on Wednesday, reaching $471.37. 866,615 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,006,585. The company has a market cap of $69.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.96, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a 50-day moving average of $465.45 and a 200-day moving average of $465.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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