Procyon Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Procyon Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation, selling 7,569 shares to hold only 937 shares, representing an 89% decrease in holdings during the 2nd quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including GAMMA Investing LLC and Wellington Management Group LLP, made substantial increases in their positions in Northrop Grumman, with GAMMA raising its holdings by over 55,000% in the first quarter.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Northrop Grumman, with Bank of America increasing their target from $550 to $650, reflecting strong confidence in the company's stock performance.

Procyon Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 89.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 937 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 7,569 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $468,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the first 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.4% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $2,631,390,000 after acquiring an additional 974,633 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.4% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 210,500 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.1% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 55,522.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,520,158 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $778,336,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $571.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,478,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 649,222. 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 50 day simple moving average of $573.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $521.61. The company has a market capitalization of $81.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.13. 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 posted 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. The firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%.The firm's revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $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 fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $588.85.

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.