Carmel Capital Partners LLC Sells 88 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Carmel Capital Partners LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 14.8% 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 owned 507 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 88 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 237.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,905 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $892,000 after buying an additional 1,340 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,892 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 76.2% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 53,240 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $24,924,000 after purchasing an additional 23,030 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 882 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $413,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 1,504 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $450.00 target price (down previously from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $494.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other 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 transaction of $430,103.35. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $10.08 on Friday, hitting $462.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,213,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,785. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $414.56 and a 12-month high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $459.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $464.47. The stock has a market cap of $68.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.35.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.23% and a return on equity of 23.07%. The company had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.49%.

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.