Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. has reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman by 10.6%, selling 31,892 shares and holding a total of 268,886 shares valued at approximately $137.67 million.
• Multiple institutional investors increased their positions in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter, with GAMMA Investing LLC notably raising its stake by over 55,000% to nearly 1.52 million shares.
• Northrop Grumman's CEO and other insiders have sold shares recently, including CEO Kathy J. Warden who sold 7,500 shares, representing a significant decrease in her ownership.

Alliancebernstein L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 268,886 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 31,892 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.19% of Northrop Grumman worth $137,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $588.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were 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 owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,512 shares of company stock worth $7,805,146 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE NOC traded up $7.95 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $579.58. The company had a trading volume of 161,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 959,202. The company has a market capitalization of $82.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.13. 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 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $600.99. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $562.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $515.58.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.36 EPS. 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. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.