Focused Investors LLC Purchases 8,300 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Focused Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 211,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,300 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises about 3.9% of Focused Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Focused Investors LLC owned about 0.15% of Northrop Grumman worth $129,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coign Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the second quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $647,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $687,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.2%

NOC stock opened at $654.22 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.53, a P/E/G ratio of 5.30 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $658.41. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $575.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $575.70.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released 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. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.49% and a net margin of 9.82%.The company had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 33.24%.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,000 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $4,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 194,602 shares in the company, valued at $116,761,200. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,097 shares of company stock worth $6,099,716. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $654.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $714.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $700.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.82.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.