Corient IA LLC Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Corient IA LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman, acquiring 1,500 shares valued at approximately $768,000.
• Northrop Grumman reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $7.11, exceeding estimates, alongside a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.3% to $10.35 billion.
• The company recently increased its quarterly dividend to $2.31 per share, up from $2.06, indicating a solid dividend yield of 1.6% and a payout ratio of 34.06%.

Corient IA LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,500 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $768,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management boosted its holdings 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 valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on NOC. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock traded up $1.2990 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $586.1190. The stock had a trading volume of 470,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 882,543. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $594.68. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $535.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $502.32. 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 (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%.The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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.