Jones Financial Companies Lllp Purchases 119,844 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Jones Financial Companies LLP significantly increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation, raising its position by 1,989.8% and owning approximately 0.09% of the company valued at $64.45 million.
• Northrop Grumman reported better-than-expected earnings with $7.11 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' forecasts, and set its FY 2025 EPS guidance between $25.000-25.400.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.6%, with the payout ratio currently at 34.06%.

Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 1,989.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 125,867 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 119,844 shares during the quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp owned about 0.09% of Northrop Grumman worth $64,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the first quarter. Salvus Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $691,000 after buying an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.4% in the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 271 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $139,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.9% during the first quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 553 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $283,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.4%

Northrop Grumman stock traded up $7.85 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $579.48. The company had a trading volume of 509,094 shares, compared to its average volume of 594,505. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $600.99. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $562.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $515.58. The firm has a market cap of $82.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.52, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.13.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.36 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. 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 is 34.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 15,512 shares of company stock valued at $7,805,146 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on NOC. Barclays boosted their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Monday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $588.85.

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.