New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 105,920 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 4,595 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $49,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 3,926 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $693,000 after buying an additional 377 shares in the last quarter. Attessa Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $642,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 59,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $27,899,000 after buying an additional 1,404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aljian Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 9,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,644,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE NOC opened at $438.70 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $475.65 and its 200 day moving average is $499.46.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

About Northrop Grumman

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.