Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 3.6% during the first quarter, now owning 0.06% of the company valued at approximately $40.6 million.
• Northrop Grumman has received multiple price target upgrades from analysts, with Truist Financial setting a new target at $625.00 and Susquehanna raising theirs to $650.00, amid a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.6%, to be paid on September 17th for shareholders on record by September 2nd.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 79,324 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 3,003 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.06% of Northrop Grumman worth $40,615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hollencrest Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% in the 1st quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at $101,964,243.54. The trade was a 3.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,512 shares of company stock worth $7,805,146 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.3%

NOC stock traded down $1.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $579.22. 484,478 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 969,681. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $556.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $511.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. Northrop Grumman's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.36 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors 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 yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 34.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.