Evexia Wealth LLC Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Evexia Wealth LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,596 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 322 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman makes up approximately 3.3% of Evexia Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Evexia Wealth LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 960.0% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 53 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% in the 4th quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,735 shares in the company, valued at $1,231,761.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Kathryn G. Simpson sold 1,273 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total transaction of $573,321.01. Following the sale, the vice president now 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 955 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.37, for a total value of $430,103.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,863,180.69. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,149 shares of company stock valued at $1,421,147. 0.22% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TheStreet downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “b+” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.38.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $4.67 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $473.53. 734,284 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,009,010. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $414.56 and a 1 year high of $496.89. The company has a market cap of $70.08 billion, a PE ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $465.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $465.24.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $1.87 per share. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.31%.

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.