Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) Shares Sold by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,155 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $13,955,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $2.99 during trading on Friday, hitting $435.01. 20,752 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 968,717. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $447.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $457.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $510.36.

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.