Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Trims Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 6.1%, now holding 36,217 shares valued at approximately $18.54 million.
• Northrop Grumman recently reported earnings of $7.11 per share, exceeding analyst expectations and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.3%.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, with a payment date set for September 17th and an annualized dividend yield of 1.6%.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,217 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 2,343 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $18,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,792,479,000 after acquiring an additional 588,520 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,631,390,000 after acquiring an additional 974,633 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 10.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,241,144 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,147,489,000 after purchasing an additional 210,500 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 12.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,944,186 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $995,443,000 after purchasing an additional 210,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $588.85.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $5.20 during trading on Friday, hitting $577.76. 135,548 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 956,442. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $565.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $516.94. The company has a market cap of $82.72 billion, a PE ratio of 21.30, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.13. 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 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $600.99.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.36 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. On average, analysts forecast 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 is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 34.06%.

Northrop Grumman 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.