Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Sells 33,325 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,825,250 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 33,325 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,112,161,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 75.0% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $654.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $714.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $770.00 to $777.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $656.82.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total value of $4,200,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 194,602 shares in the company, valued at $116,761,200. This 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 quarter, insiders sold 10,097 shares of company stock worth $6,099,716. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $667.02 on Friday. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $577.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $577.36. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $669.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.05.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $2.31 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 33.24%.

Northrop Grumman Profile

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.