Davis R M Inc. Trims Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Davis R M Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 64,150 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 929 shares during the quarter. Davis R M Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $32,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IMA Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 75.0% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective 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. Truist Financial increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $688.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $642.73.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $569.09 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $640.90. The company has a 50 day moving average of $592.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $545.59. The company has a market cap of $81.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.07. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

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.