Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 12.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,265 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 608 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 121.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,400,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 51.9% in the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at $33,090,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 206.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,771 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 18.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 795,839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $407,477,000 after purchasing an additional 125,693 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.5%

NOC opened at $574.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $572.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $520.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $600.99.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NOC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $542.00 target price (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $588.85.

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.