Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires 4,877 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation by 90.7% during the first quarter, bringing their total to 10,252 shares valued at approximately $5.249 million.
• CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of Northrop Grumman stock at an average price of $505.77, decreasing her ownership by 3.59%.
• Northrop Grumman declared an increased quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $9.24 and a yield of 1.6%.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 90.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,252 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,877 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $778,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $369,205,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $6,792,479,000 after purchasing an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,239,434 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $3,866,133,000 after purchasing an additional 461,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 28.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,030,644 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $952,962,000 after buying an additional 450,858 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 7,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Roshan S. Roeder sold 991 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were 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 owned 319 shares of the company's stock, valued at $156,310. This trade represents a 75.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $625.00 price objective (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "positive" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $586.79.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded up $1.0490 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $585.8690. 285,251 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 994,301. The business's 50 day moving average is $533.94 and its 200-day moving average is $501.74. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $594.68. 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 company has a market capitalization of $83.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.59 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The company's revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.36 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

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.