Kingfisher Capital LLC Sells 129 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Kingfisher Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,987 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Kingfisher Capital LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 241.2% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 58 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 245.5% in the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 76 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $509.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $550.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $532.93, for a total value of $616,067.08. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $286,183.41. This trade represents a 68.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,255 shares of company stock valued at $667,727. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $489.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $71.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $517.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $487.15. Northrop Grumman Co. has a twelve month low of $418.60 and a twelve month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.07 by $0.93. The business had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 5.79% and a return on equity of 26.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.05%.

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.