Childress Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC)

Childress Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 11.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 470 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 61 shares during the period. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $240,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $495.00, for a total transaction of $1,856,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 209,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $103,505,490. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,322,279 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $525.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.43.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $497.92 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $422.69 and a twelve month high of $555.57. The firm has a market cap of $71.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 5.43 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $489.35 and a 200 day moving average of $482.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). The firm had revenue of $9.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.07 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.46% and a net margin of 9.19%. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.06. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.46%.

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.