Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. Decreases Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. trimmed its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,050 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,631,390,000 after buying an additional 974,633 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,425.2% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,001,198 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $512,624,000 after buying an additional 935,554 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $369,205,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in 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 buying an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 98.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 899,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $460,355,000 after buying an additional 446,940 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating 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. Barclays increased 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 report on Tuesday, July 29th. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.73.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $577.99 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $640.90. The stock has a market cap of $82.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $594.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $542.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.00 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 currently 33.24%.

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.