Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Boosts Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 10.4% in Q1, owning 2,241,144 shares valued at approximately $1.15 billion.
• Northrop Grumman reported a Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $7.11, surpassing expectations, and set its FY 2025 EPS guidance between 25.000-25.400.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 1.5%, with the payment date on September 17th.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 10.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,241,144 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 210,500 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 1.56% of Northrop Grumman worth $1,147,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Hollencrest Capital Management grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 790.0% during the first quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on NOC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 target price (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $586.79.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $490.00, for a total value of $485,590.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 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 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. The trade was 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 have sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $5.2310 during trading on Friday, hitting $591.9790. 616,625 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 735,115. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $600.99. The company has a market cap of $84.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 5.67 and a beta of 0.15. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $541.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $504.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.36 earnings per share. 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 expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 34.06%.

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.