NewEdge Advisors LLC Sells 1,979 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• NewEdge Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.2%, selling 1,979 shares and now owning 8,312 shares worth approximately $4.26 million.
• Vanguard Group increased its stake by 4.6%, holding over 13 million shares valued at about $6.79 billion, while Wellington Management raised its holdings by 23.4%.
• Northrop Grumman announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6%, set to be paid on September 17th.

NewEdge Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 19.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,312 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 1,979 shares during the quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,792,479,000 after purchasing an additional 588,520 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,631,390,000 after purchasing an additional 974,633 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,241,144 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,147,489,000 after purchasing an additional 210,500 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,944,186 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $995,443,000 after purchasing an additional 210,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and issued a $542.00 price objective (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $588.85.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC traded down $7.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $575.91. 717,853 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 959,908. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.13. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $600.99. The company's fifty day moving average price is $565.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $516.94.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.36 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

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.