Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Acquires 3,791 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 93.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,861 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,791 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,571 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $22,481,000 after acquiring an additional 3,017 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 469 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,161 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 233,703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $123,412,000 after buying an additional 5,089 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 84,953 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,861,000 after buying an additional 8,416 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price 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. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.56.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $438.70 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $474.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.39. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $418.60 and a 1-year high of $555.57. The stock 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. On average, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 27.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Northrop Grumman announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the aerospace company to reacquire up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.