Private Wealth Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Private Wealth Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 962 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,792,479,000 after buying an additional 588,520 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,631,390,000 after acquiring an additional 974,633 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 210,500 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,944,186 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $995,443,000 after acquiring an additional 210,506 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 12.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,115,625 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,211,000 after purchasing an additional 119,693 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $609.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.10. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $640.90. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $592.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $535.87.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.36 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue 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. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Wall Street Zen raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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 raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $613.15.

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.