Choreo LLC Sells 54 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Choreo LLC lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,474 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Czech National Bank boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 28,004 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,495 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 27.5% in the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 867 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $458,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.1% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,876 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 13.4% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,763 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,571,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,063 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $568,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NOC stock opened at $466.29 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $477.78 and a 200 day moving average of $499.22. 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 stock has a market cap of $67.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.04 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.08%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Northrop Grumman from $595.00 to $574.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $579.00 to $558.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $587.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $544.31.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 537 shares in the company, valued at $286,183.41. The trade was a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock worth $662,868 over the last three months. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.