Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stake Reduced by First Manhattan CO. LLC.

Key Points

• First Manhattan CO. LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 40% during the first quarter, selling 1,175 shares and ending up with 1,763 shares valued at approximately $903,000.
• Wall Street analysts have a generally positive outlook on Northrop Grumman, with an average target price of $588.85; Bank of America has even raised its price target to $650.00 with a "buy" rating.
• Northrop Grumman recently announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd, representing a dividend yield of 1.6%.

First Manhattan CO. LLC. cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 40.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,763 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,175 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brookstone Capital Management grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 121.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,400,000 after acquiring an additional 3,635 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 51.9% in the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,197,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,090,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 206.2% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,771 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,421,000 after buying an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 18.8% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $588.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 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 transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,512 shares of company stock worth $7,805,146. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $581.51. The stock had a trading volume of 786,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,485. 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 stock has a market cap of $83.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a P/E/G ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.13. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $559.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $514.26. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $600.99.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations 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 was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.36 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given 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 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.