Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 302 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Calamos Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $31,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. London Co. of Virginia bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $517,028,000 after acquiring an additional 502,060 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $154,720,000 after acquiring an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147 in the last quarter. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC traded up $4.36 on Friday, hitting $456.86. 71,277 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 975,973. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $459.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $464.12. The firm has a market cap of $67.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.35. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year 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.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 55.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 target price (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $494.33.

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.