ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 101,695 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,975 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman comprises approximately 1.9% of ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $50,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,792,479,000 after acquiring an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,631,390,000 after purchasing an additional 974,633 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 10.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,241,144 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,147,489,000 after purchasing an additional 210,500 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,944,186 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $995,443,000 after purchasing an additional 210,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,115,625 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $571,211,000 after purchasing an additional 119,693 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on NOC. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price objective (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.85.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $610.32 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $585.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $529.07. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $610.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 1.5%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

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.