Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Lowers Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lowered its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,085 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $567.44 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $80.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $588.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $552.48. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $640.90.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. The firm had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 33.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas raised Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $650.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $646.94.

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.