Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Increases Stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 87.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,802 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,192 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $799,000. Next Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Next Capital Management LLC now owns 970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $423,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,546.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 214 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $2,910,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,111.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 4,276 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,864,000 after buying an additional 3,923 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $592.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $523.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NOC opened at $538.85 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $510.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $473.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.61% and a return on equity of 25.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.34 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.62%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028. 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.