NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Acquires 25,647 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• NorthCrest Asset Management increased its Northrop Grumman stake by 605.7% in the third quarter, purchasing 25,647 additional shares and ending with 29,881 shares valued at approximately $14.5 million.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.4% of Northrop Grumman, while an insider sold 95 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $644.70; the company also reported quarterly EPS of $7.68, exceeding estimates, and pays a $2.47 quarterly dividend.

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 605.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,881 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,647 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $14,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,707,203,000 after buying an additional 168,267 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $655,373,000 after acquiring an additional 5,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.1% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 587,121 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $400,557,000 after acquiring an additional 58,690 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,405,299.29. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $620.00 price target (down from $800.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $635.00 to $600.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday. They set an "underweight" rating and a $419.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $644.70.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE NOC opened at $484.64 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $530.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $557.66. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $470.06 and a one year high of $774.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $68.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 10.48%. The company's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.15 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation NYSE: NOC is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. Department of Defense and other government agencies representing its primary markets. Its work spans advanced aircraft, autonomous systems, space systems, missile defense, command and control, cybersecurity, and other mission-critical technologies.

The company's offerings include strategic and tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, aircraft systems, satellites, spacecraft, launch vehicles, missile-warning and missile-defense systems, secure communications, and cyber and information systems.

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