California Public Employees Retirement System Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 614,254 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,919 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $288,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $962,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 1,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $933,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Finally, Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 432 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total value of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total value of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This trade represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,126,405 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on NOC. Wolfe Research raised shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $545.06.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $511.86 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $478.20 and a 200-day moving average of $492.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $74.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

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.