Principle Wealth Partners LLC Grows Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 12.9% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,263 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 121.0% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,400,000 after acquiring an additional 3,635 shares during the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 641.0% in the second quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 206.2% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,771 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 1,866 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 18.8% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 795,839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $407,477,000 after acquiring an additional 125,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 118.2% in the first quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 598 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $595.81 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $593.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $538.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.03 and a beta of 0.10. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $640.90.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion for 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 25.80%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 34.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $700.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $688.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. One 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $641.27.

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.