State of Alaska Department of Revenue Trims Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,311 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,590 shares during the quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after acquiring an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,194,298 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,846,289,000 after acquiring an additional 142,036 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $706,804,000 after acquiring an additional 362,515 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,567,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $723,799,000 after acquiring an additional 362,449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,244,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $547,739,000 after acquiring an additional 79,263 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $478.66 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $71.82 billion, a PE ratio of 35.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $457.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $462.07. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $541.00 to $473.00 in a research report on Friday, December 15th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Wolfe Research lowered Northrop Grumman from a “peer perform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $450.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 price target (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.