Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 15.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 299,087 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 52,583 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $153,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 121.0% during the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,400,000 after buying an additional 3,635 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 51.9% in the first quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,090,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,866 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 125,693 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares in the company, valued at $3,819,575.04. This represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Robert J. Fleming sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $1,770,195.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,827 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $924,041.79. This trade represents a 65.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,536 shares of company stock worth $8,306,857 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $589.97 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $600.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $550.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $508.52. The stock has a market cap of $84.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.63 and a beta of 0.15.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.52% and a net margin of 9.74%.The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 34.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Barclays upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 price target (up from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $588.85.

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.