McCollum Christoferson Group LLC Has $6.77 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

McCollum Christoferson Group LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,811 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises about 2.0% of McCollum Christoferson Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. McCollum Christoferson Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,765,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Firethorn Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $245,000. LaFleur & Godfrey LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $202,000. Safeguard Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Safeguard Financial LLC now owns 1,008 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 44.9% in the 3rd quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 591 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $474.00 to $575.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $535.00.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,225,917.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $500.00, for a total value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,317,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,879 shares of company stock valued at $1,410,703. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $531.43 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $520.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $478.08. The stock has a market cap of $78.65 billion, a PE ratio of 37.16, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.93 by $0.43. The company had revenue of $10.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.34 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 57.62%.

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.