Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Sells 807 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL trimmed its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 56.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 630 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 807 shares during the quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,140,892 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,186,681,000 after purchasing an additional 17,596 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,003,360 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,581,644,000 after buying an additional 18,791 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,426,270 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,315,729,000 after buying an additional 141,816 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 832,463 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $390,667,000 after acquiring an additional 23,018 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 102.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 735,600 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $388,448,000 after acquiring an additional 372,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 212,852 shares in the company, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 464 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $460.75, for a total transaction of $213,788.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $112,883.75. The trade was a 65.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock worth $2,126,405. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research raised Northrop Grumman from an "underperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $545.00 to $547.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $557.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $542.88.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NOC stock traded up $3.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $492.25. 2,084,666 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 830,441. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $475.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $493.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57. The stock has a market cap of $71.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.37, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The aerospace company reported $6.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.27 by $0.12. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.24% and a net margin of 10.17%. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the aerospace company to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.08%.

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.