Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,654 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 396 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $515.07.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.1 %

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $9.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $480.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,164,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 785,878. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $441.47 and a 200 day moving average of $455.34. The stock has a market cap of $71.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.59, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.33.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.34 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

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.