Choreo LLC Takes $685,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $283,114,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,488,412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,975,754,000 after buying an additional 410,736 shares in the last quarter. London Co. of Virginia bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $165,786,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,605,679 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $706,804,000 after buying an additional 362,515 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2 %

NOC stock opened at $485.94 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $414.56 and a twelve month high of $496.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market cap of $71.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.98, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $464.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $465.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.09% and a net margin of 5.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $453.22, for a total value of $322,239.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

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.