Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Stock Holdings Lessened by South Dakota Investment Council

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 22.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $315,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 8.3% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 648 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 15.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 47.1% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 24,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,942,000 after acquiring an additional 7,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Fin Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the third quarter. Blue Fin Capital Inc. now owns 4,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,011,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $488.22 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $72.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.22, a PEG ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $414.56 and a 12 month high of $496.89. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $462.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $465.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $497.23.

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.