Aprio Wealth Management LLC Takes $228,000 Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Aprio Wealth Management LLC has acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman, purchasing 445 shares valued at approximately $228,000.
• Several hedge funds, including Royal Bank of Canada and EP Wealth Advisors LLC, have also increased their stakes in Northrop Grumman during the same period, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Northrop Grumman reported a quarterly earnings per share of $7.11, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, reflecting its consistent performance and commitment to shareholders.

Aprio Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 445 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock traded up $4.09 on Wednesday, reaching $575.72. 81,818 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,906. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $562.79 and a 200-day moving average of $515.58. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $600.99. The firm has a market cap of $82.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion for 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%.Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.36 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price target (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $588.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $1,770,195.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 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 value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,512 shares of company stock valued at $7,805,146. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.