National Pension Service Cuts Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

National Pension Service decreased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 297,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 59,596 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $139,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,348 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,398,000 after buying an additional 2,246 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $522,000. abrdn plc grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 27.1% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 12,868 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,756,000 after buying an additional 2,747 shares during the last quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Walter & Keenan Wealth Management LLC IN ADV now owns 575 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $454.80 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $469.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $496.76. The stock has a market cap of $65.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.08%.

Northrop Grumman declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Susquehanna decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $574.00 to $545.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $542.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total transaction of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 291 shares of company stock valued at $129,184. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

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.