Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP has increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 6.4%, owning 849,408 shares after acquiring an additional 50,782 shares, valued at approximately $434.9 million.
• Recent analyst activity saw Northrop Grumman's stock ratings shift, with several firms raising their price targets, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.
• Northrop Grumman recently increased its quarterly dividend from $2.06 to $2.31 per share, representing a 1.6% dividend yield and showing a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 849,408 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,782 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.59% of Northrop Grumman worth $434,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,425 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $369,205,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,792,479,000 after acquiring an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $3,866,133,000 after acquiring an additional 461,307 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $952,962,000 after acquiring an additional 450,858 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC traded up $1.2990 on Tuesday, hitting $586.1190. The company had a trading volume of 470,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 995,656. The company has a market capitalization of $83.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a PEG ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.15. The company's fifty day moving average price is $533.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $501.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $594.68.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.36 EPS. The firm's revenue 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, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $586.79.

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.