Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 9,154 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.4%, selling 9,154 shares and leaving them with 37,989 shares worth approximately $18.99 million.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Northrop Grumman, with Susquehanna increasing it to $650.00 and Royal Bank of Canada setting it at $625.00, reflecting a positive sentiment toward the stock.
• Northrop Grumman reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $7.11 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, with a year-over-year revenue growth of 1.3%.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 19.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,989 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 9,154 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $18,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,049 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tyche Wealth Partners LLC now owns 830 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $139,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 553 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 611 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Susquehanna increased their price target 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. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $625.00 price target (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $601.00.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $623.51 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $590.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $533.84. The company has a market capitalization of $89.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a PEG ratio of 5.97 and a beta of 0.10. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $640.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.36 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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