State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Increases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,840 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,998 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $28,082,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.4% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 19,726 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $10,417,000 after acquiring an additional 1,002 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $1,130,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,504 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 745 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 274.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,355,000 after buying an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $530.83 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The company has a market capitalization of $76.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $489.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $491.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOC. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $500.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $548.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. This represents a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,243,053.80. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,127,182. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company 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.