Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Sells 144 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,946 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 144 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,208,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% in the 2nd quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BTIG Research started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman 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 transaction 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 approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,813 shares of company stock worth $1,375,877. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $523.49 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $77.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.61, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $475.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.53. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $528.76.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.34 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

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.