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

Choreo LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,464 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the third quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,782 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 524 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.38.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $485.94 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $71.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.34. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $464.44 and a 200-day moving average of $465.89.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.83 by $0.49. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 earnings per share 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 given a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

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.