Eads & Heald Wealth Management Sells 253 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

Eads & Heald Wealth Management decreased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 6.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,438 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the period. Eads & Heald Wealth Management’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Diversify Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $870,000. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth about $778,000. Aviso Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 110.7% during the second quarter. Aviso Wealth Management now owns 1,896 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $1,133,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 160,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $74,027,000 after purchasing an additional 14,275 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Alembic Global Advisors downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $560.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $614.00 to $643.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $560.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen raised Northrop Grumman to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $550.56.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $506.86 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1 year low of $418.60 and a 1 year high of $555.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.09. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $523.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $482.84. The company has a market capitalization of $73.85 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.34.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The aerospace company reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.07 by $0.93. The firm had revenue of $10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.18 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 26.57% and a net margin of 5.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 25.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. This represents a $8.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 51.05%.

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.