Bank of America Corp DE Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Bank of America initiated a major Northrop Grumman position in the second quarter, purchasing 2.55 million shares valued at approximately $1.30 billion, or 1.79% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of NOC.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $659.86, despite some recent target reductions.
• Northrop Grumman exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.68 in EPS and $10.88 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $2.47 per share, equivalent to a 1.9% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,548,822 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,298,141,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.79% of Northrop Grumman as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 353 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $134,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Portfolios Inc. now owns 1,789 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 896 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $511,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 379 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $704.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $659.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $527.89 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $543.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $589.70. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $479.02 and a 12 month high of $774.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 10.48%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.15 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and delivers systems, platforms and technologies for government and commercial customers. Its activities include the design and production of military aircraft, autonomous systems, spacecraft, launch vehicles, missile-defense systems, command-and-control networks, cyber solutions, sensors and other mission-critical technologies.

The company serves the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and international customers.

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