Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $2.77 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 76.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,898 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,562 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 2,262 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,194,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the third quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,288 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,208,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 8,320 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,394,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $962,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $304,217.72. The trade was a 21.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 291 shares of company stock valued at $129,184 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $459.90 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $469.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $496.50. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12 month low of $418.60 and a 12 month high of $555.57. The company has a market cap of $66.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 29.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $542.75.

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.