Credit Agricole S A Buys 1,286 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 3.8%, acquiring an additional 1,286 shares, bringing its total holdings to 35,442 shares worth approximately $18.1 million.
• Other institutional investors also raised their stakes in Northrop Grumman, with significant increases from companies like Brookstone Capital Management (121% increase) and Golden State Wealth Management (206.2% increase).
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, reflecting a 1.6% yield, which will be paid to shareholders on September 17.

Credit Agricole S A boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,442 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the quarter. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $18,147,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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 reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating 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 nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NOC traded up $4.93 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $591.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 257,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 980,708. The firm has a market cap of $84.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.15. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $600.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $543.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $505.78.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. The trade was a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Northrop Grumman

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.