Corebridge Financial Inc. Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Corebridge Financial Inc. has reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 3.6%, now holding 30,349 shares valued at approximately $15.54 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Brookstone Capital Management and GAM Holding AG, have increased their holdings in Northrop Grumman, indicating continued interest in the aerospace company's stock.
• Northrop Grumman recently announced earnings of $7.11 per share, surpassing consensus estimates, and revealed a quarterly dividend of $2.31 to be paid in September.

Corebridge Financial Inc. trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 30,349 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,128 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $15,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 121.0% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,400,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 51.9% during the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,197,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth approximately $33,090,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 206.2% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,771 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,421,000 after buying an additional 1,866 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 18.8% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 795,839 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $407,477,000 after buying an additional 125,693 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NOC. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays boosted 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 note on Tuesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $586.6550 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.00 billion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $543.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $505.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $600.99.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced 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 business had revenue of $10.35 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.36 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors 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 currently 34.06%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 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 value of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 directly owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.

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