Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,305 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,091 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $37,481,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 960.0% in 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. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Frazier Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 247.6% during the fourth quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 73 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $38,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NOC. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $530.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $475.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $450.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set a “buy” rating and a $565.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $483.00 to $518.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $510.36.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5 %

NOC stock traded up $1.91 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $425.64. The company had a trading volume of 335,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 974,622. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.33. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 52-week low of $414.56 and a 52-week high of $496.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $449.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $457.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $2.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.87. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.62%.

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.