Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 610 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,368 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 610 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,458,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after buying an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after acquiring an additional 18,791 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,315,729,000 after acquiring an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $390,667,000 after purchasing an additional 23,018 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $388,448,000 after purchasing an additional 372,500 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.4 %

NOC opened at $491.56 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $473.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.16 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Argus raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $544.00 target price on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $542.88.

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.