Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Holdings Decreased by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman by 94.5%, selling 41,944 shares and now holding 2,438 shares worth approximately $1,245,000.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Northrop Grumman, with Bank of America increasing its target from $550 to $650 and Royal Bank of Canada from $600 to $625.
• Northrop Grumman announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31, providing a yield of 1.6%, with the dividend payout ratio at 34.06%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 94.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,438 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 41,944 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price objective (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $588.85.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock traded down $1.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $574.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 804,470 shares, compared to its average volume of 959,020. The firm has a market cap of $82.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a PEG ratio of 5.51 and a beta of 0.13. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $567.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $518.57. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $600.99.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. 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 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.