Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stock Holdings Lessened by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 3.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,324 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,003 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $40,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $46,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 target price (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.85.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.4%

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $589.97 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $550.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $509.16. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $600.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.36 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.06%.

Northrop Grumman 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.