1,887 Shares in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Purchased by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,887 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $966,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 52.5% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 13,737 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,447,000 after acquiring an additional 4,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,311 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,958,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $579.48 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $564.40 and its 200-day moving average is $516.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $82.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.13. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $600.99.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.85.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,762 shares of company stock valued at $5,948,896. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.