Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Has $8.42 Million Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 2.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,321 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $8,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,688,511 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,765,543,000 after buying an additional 23,398 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,271,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,063,364,000 after buying an additional 80,887 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,260,599 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $590,137,000 after acquiring an additional 16,275 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.2 %

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $513.99 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $478.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $465.48. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52 week low of $414.56 and a 52 week high of $528.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.17 billion, a PE ratio of 36.01, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.34 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total transaction of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,846 shares of company stock valued at $1,393,028 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $523.20.

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.