Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 52,583 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 15.0% during the first quarter, owning 299,087 shares worth approximately $153.1 million.
• Several hedge funds, including Guggenheim Capital LLC and CreativeOne Wealth LLC, increased their holdings in Northrop Grumman, reflecting strong institutional interest in the company.
• Northrup Grumman recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, leading to an annualized yield of 1.6% for shareholders.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 15.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,087 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 52,583 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.21% of Northrop Grumman worth $153,136,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NOC. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at approximately $137,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,962,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 59.3% in the first quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 32,109 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $16,440,000 after buying an additional 11,959 shares during the period. RB Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.0% in the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 3,760 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,925,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 73.4% in the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,387 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,758,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $588.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 15,545 shares of company stock worth $7,821,267. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock traded down $8.43 on Wednesday, hitting $580.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 309,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,577. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04. The stock's 50 day moving average is $554.51 and its 200-day moving average is $510.77. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $600.99. The company has a market capitalization of $83.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.