LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI Increases Position in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC) by 4.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,245 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman accounts for 1.7% of LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. LVM Capital Management Ltd. MI’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $12,574,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 76.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Sageworth Trust Co increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,440.0% during the 1st quarter. Sageworth Trust Co now owns 77 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXS Investments LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $502.00 to $485.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $500.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $655.00 to $615.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $448.00 to $485.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $506.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark A. Caylor sold 1,670 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $437.87, for a total value of $731,242.90. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,570 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,379,765.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC traded up $1.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $433.80. 183,197 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 840,243. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 1-year low of $416.71 and a 1-year high of $556.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.64 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $439.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $449.66.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The aerospace company reported $5.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.31 by $0.03. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The company had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.32 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 22.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 28th were issued a $1.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 25th. This represents a $7.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 24.78%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense company worldwide. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems in the United States and internationally. 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.