Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Acquired by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 12.0%, owning over 1.1 million shares worth approximately $571.2 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• The company reported a Q2 EPS of $7.11, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $10.35 billion, up 1.3% year-over-year.
• Northrop Grumman recently declared a quarterly dividend of $2.31, representing a 1.6% yield, which will be paid on September 17th to investors of record on September 2nd.

Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 12.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,115,625 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 119,693 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.78% of Northrop Grumman worth $571,211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 23.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $2,631,390,000 after purchasing an additional 974,633 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,425.2% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,001,198 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $512,624,000 after purchasing an additional 935,554 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at about $369,205,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the first 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. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,512 shares of company stock valued at $7,805,146. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $580.56. The company had a trading volume of 630,636 shares, compared to its average volume of 967,796. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $600.99. The firm has a market cap of $83.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.56 and a beta of 0.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $558.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $512.22. 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 (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The business 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%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.36 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price target (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price target (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.