CVA Family Office LLC Sells 44 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

CVA Family Office LLC lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 18.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 201 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 44 shares during the quarter. CVA Family Office LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $88,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,747,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,623,128,000 after purchasing an additional 621,636 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2,801.7% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 330,499 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $154,720,000 after acquiring an additional 319,109 shares during the last quarter. Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth $108,369,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,634,043 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,218,132,000 after purchasing an additional 211,459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth $97,866,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $3.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $489.75. 736,591 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 974,076. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $414.56 and a 1-year high of $506.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $444.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $455.86. The firm has a market cap of $72.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.34, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.32.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The aerospace company reported $6.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.93 by $0.43. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.44% and a net margin of 5.61%. The firm had revenue of $10.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.34 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $2.06 dividend. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 57.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $467.00 to $509.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $474.00 to $575.00 in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $440.00 to $515.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $516.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,634 shares in the company, valued at $2,317,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 1,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $477.56, for a total transaction of $663,330.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,755 shares in the company, valued at $3,225,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.