First Trust Advisors LP Sells 10,213 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 477,253 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 10,213 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.33% of Northrop Grumman worth $238,617,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 75.0% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $31,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Susquehanna upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $650.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $688.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $696.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $646.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $552.91 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a PEG ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $585.78 and a 200 day moving average of $555.51. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $640.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 33.24%.

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.