New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 105,920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 4,595 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $49,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. PBMares Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,421 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,194,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,023,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price for the company. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $438.70 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $418.60 and a 52 week high of $555.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $475.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $499.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The company has a market cap of $63.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.