Horan Capital Advisors LLC. Cuts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Horan Capital Advisors LLC. decreased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,515 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. Horan Capital Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 400.0% in the third quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE NOC opened at $469.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $464.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $465.81. Northrop Grumman Co. has a one year low of $414.56 and a one year high of $496.89. The company has a market capitalization of $69.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.83 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $10.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.77 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.38% and a return on equity of 24.09%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 52.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,784.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total transaction of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $509.38.

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.