Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Acquired by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 17.7% during the first quarter, now holding 22,774 shares valued at approximately $11.66 million.
• Northrop Grumman reported a quarterly EPS of $7.11, exceeding analyst estimates, and has set its FY 2025 EPS guidance between $25.00 and $25.40.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, scheduled to be paid on September 17th, representing an annualized yield of 1.6%.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 17.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,774 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 3,429 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $11,660,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 1,006 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 32.3% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,202,000 after buying an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,955 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,326,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $1,770,195.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 1,827 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $924,041.79. The trade was a 65.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,545 shares of company stock valued at $7,821,267. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $589.06 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $84.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $554.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $510.77. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%.Northrop Grumman's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 34.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note 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 note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.

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