Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Kestra Investment Management LLC

Kestra Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 44.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $168,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 worth $778,336,000 after buying an additional 1,517,425 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 23.4% during 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 buying an additional 974,633 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,425.2% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,001,198 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $512,624,000 after buying an additional 935,554 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $369,205,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 588,520 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $571.63 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $600.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $562.79 and a 200-day moving average of $515.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a P/E/G ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 0.13. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last announced 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. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue 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, analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 currently 34.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Susquehanna increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $542.00 target price (down previously from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 target price (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.85.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction 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 $3,819,575.04. The trade was a 8.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 15,512 shares of company stock valued at $7,805,146 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.