Calamos Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Calamos Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 68,108 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 302 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $31,884,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Xponance Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 18,431 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116 shares during the period. NBW Capital LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 8,063 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,775,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,334 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,416 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,131,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora now owns 1,402 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $4.36 on Friday, hitting $456.86. The stock had a trading volume of 71,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 975,973. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $67.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $459.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $464.12.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.47. The business had revenue of $10.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.43 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.07% and a net margin of 5.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.50 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 24.67 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $1.87 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $7.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 210 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $454.68, for a total value of $95,482.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,127 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,784.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock worth $1,421,147 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. StockNews.com cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $450.00 price objective (down from $515.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $505.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $494.33.

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.