Evermay Wealth Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,188 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after acquiring an additional 621,636 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,915.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 438,521 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $191,173,000 after purchasing an additional 416,768 shares in the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $108,369,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.8% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,218,132,000 after buying an additional 211,459 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at $97,866,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $0.80 on Tuesday, hitting $521.95. 118,240 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 929,171. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.24 billion, a PE ratio of 36.59, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.32. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $526.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $471.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $463.61.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $10.22 billion during 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%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.15 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Insider Activity

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 value of $695,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total value of $663,330.84. Following 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 4,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,317,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $593.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded 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 research report on Friday, June 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently 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.