Chilton Capital Management LLC Sells 91 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Chilton Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 31.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 194 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 91 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $93,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $431.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 581,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 970,837. The stock has a market cap of $63.92 billion, a PE ratio of 30.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Co. has a fifty-two week low of $414.56 and a fifty-two week high of $496.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $446.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.99.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 57.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price target on the stock. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $532.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $477.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $510.36.

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.