Russell Investments Group Ltd. Cuts Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,555 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 65,012 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.15% of Northrop Grumman worth $106,751,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 75.0% during the 2nd 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. Flaharty Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% in 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 in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $567.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $80.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.07. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $640.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $588.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $552.48. 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 announced its 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. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. As a group, research 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 will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the sale, the director owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $700.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $650.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $646.94.

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.