Advisors Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Advisors Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 7.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,252 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 99 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,792,479,000 after acquiring an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 23.4% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,631,390,000 after purchasing an additional 974,633 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,115,519 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,554,299,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 10.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,241,144 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,147,489,000 after buying an additional 210,500 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 12.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,944,186 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $995,443,000 after buying an additional 210,506 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $557.77 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $590.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $548.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a PEG 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $640.90.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued 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 return on equity of 25.49% and a net margin of 9.82%.The company had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.00 EPS. The firm’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. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on NOC. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. BTIG Research increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report 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 report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.