Graham Capital Management L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 5.1%, now holding 14,873 shares worth approximately $7.6 million.
• Several institutional investors, including the Saudi Central Bank and Banque Cantonale Vaudoise, acquired new stakes in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter, contributing to 83.40% of the stock being owned by institutions.
• Northrop Grumman reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $7.11, surpassing analyst estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share to be paid on September 17th.

Graham Capital Management L.P. lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,873 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 792 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,615,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the period. 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 valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 312.7% during the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 61,995 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $29,094,000 after purchasing an additional 46,975 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 32.3% during the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,202,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman 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 transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This trade represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 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 $1,770,195.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,827 shares in the company, valued at approximately $924,041.79. This represents a 65.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,536 shares of company stock valued at $8,306,857. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NOC traded down $0.98 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $589.06. The company had a trading volume of 635,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 650,912. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $554.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $510.77. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $600.99. 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.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%.The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.36 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $588.85.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.