Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC Makes New $8.34 Million Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Beacon Pointe Advisors initiated an $8.34 million position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter, purchasing 16,376 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $661.30, despite some recent target reductions.
• Northrop Grumman exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.68 in EPS and $10.88 billion in revenue. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $2.47 per share, representing a 1.8% annual yield.

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 16,376 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $8,341,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 367.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,487.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 16,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 15,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,865 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,432,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $653.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $620.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $661.30.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NOC opened at $545.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $479.02 and a twelve month high of $774.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $542.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $604.78.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.39%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation NYSE: NOC is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company's portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company's work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.

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