Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,847 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 58 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Archer Investment Corp grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 325.0% during the 2nd quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 68 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 169.0% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 78 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1,440.0% during the 1st quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 77 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Financial Inc grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 60.0% during the 2nd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 80 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. 82.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 1,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $468,255.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 913 shares in the company, valued at $424,545. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 1,007 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $465.00, for a total value of $468,255.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 913 shares in the company, valued at $424,545. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $472.62, for a total value of $789,275.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 12,900 shares in the company, valued at $6,096,798. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $485.00 to $435.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 18th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $502.00 to $485.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 28th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $555.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $655.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $430.00 to $435.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $500.20.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $465.12 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $549.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $455.49 and a 200 day moving average of $448.22. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26, a PEG ratio of 8.45 and a beta of 0.42.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 26th. The aerospace company reported $6.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.81 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $9.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.58 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.24% and a net margin of 12.07%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 22.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 27th will be given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.54%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems in the United States and internationally. 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.