Choreo LLC Sells 472 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Choreo LLC reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,002 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 472 shares during the quarter. Choreo LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Hollencrest Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,323,150. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $569.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 635,710 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,872. The firm has a market capitalization of $81.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 0.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $501.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $490.55. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $576.86.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $576.67.

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.