Ieq Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC significantly increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 94.5%, owning 27,363 shares valued at $14.01 million as of the recent quarter.
• Northrop Grumman reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $6.84, alongside a revenue of $10.35 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.6%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.

Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 94.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,363 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,298 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $14,010,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after buying an additional 1,517,425 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,631,390,000 after buying an additional 974,633 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1,425.2% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,001,198 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $512,624,000 after buying an additional 935,554 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $369,205,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,792,479,000 after buying an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 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 value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total transaction of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded up $2.07 on Monday, hitting $589.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 528,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 699,430. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $550.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $509.16. The firm has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.13. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $426.24 and a 12 month 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.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The company 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%. Northrop Grumman's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.36 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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 issued 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 (DPR) is 34.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 target price (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, 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. 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $588.85.

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.