Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by NS Partners Ltd

Key Points

• NS Partners Ltd reduced its Northrop Grumman stake by 11.3% in the second quarter, selling 3,861 shares and retaining 30,180 shares valued at approximately $15.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of NOC.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $661.30, although Goldman Sachs lowered its target to $533 and kept a neutral rating.
• Northrop Grumman exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.68 in EPS and $10.88 billion in revenue. The company also announced a $2.47 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.8% annual yield.

NS Partners Ltd cut its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 11.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,180 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,861 shares during the quarter. NS Partners Ltd's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $15,371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NOC. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $6,001,616,000. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,958,151,000 after acquiring an additional 970,029 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,793,478,000 after purchasing an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,781,986,000 after buying an additional 128,855 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,298,141,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $653.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $620.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $661.30.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $539.79 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $542.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $603.09. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $479.02 and a 52-week high of $774.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of -0.11.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation NYSE: NOC is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company's portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company's work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.

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