BLB&B Advisors LLC Sells 36 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

BLB&B Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 529 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 36 shares during the period. BLB&B Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 14.8% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,039 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $532,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 13.6% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $858,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.4% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,423 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,264,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE NOC opened at $584.91 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $594.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $543.23. The stock has a market cap of $83.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.10. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $640.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. The business 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.00 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $720.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.73.

About Northrop Grumman

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.