Focus Partners Wealth Buys 7,605 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 9.9%, acquiring an additional 7,605 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 84,387 shares valued at approximately $43.2 million.
• Northrop Grumman's latest earnings reported $7.11 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a total revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.6%, with the payment date set for September 17th.

Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,387 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 7,605 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth owned 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $43,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $588.85.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.4%

NOC stock opened at $579.48 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $600.99. The company has a market cap of $82.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.13. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $564.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $516.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer 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 is available at this link. 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 transaction of $1,770,195.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,762 shares of company stock worth $5,948,896 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.

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