Channing Capital Management LLC Purchases 139 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Channing Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,736 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. London Co. of Virginia purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $165,786,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,174,556 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $517,028,000 after buying an additional 502,060 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 16,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,731,000 after buying an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Phraction Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $677,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 711 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $917,317.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 in the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. TheStreet lowered Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One 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 company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:NOC traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $467.67. 512,807 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,007,677. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $496.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $464.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $465.47.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $1.87 dividend. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.