Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Position Trimmed by Hancock Whitney Corp

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,576 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 121.0% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,640 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,400,000 after purchasing an additional 3,635 shares in the last quarter. GAM Holding AG increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. GAM Holding AG now owns 2,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,090,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 206.2% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,771 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 18.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $580.89 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.17 billion, a PE ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 0.13. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $600.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $556.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $511.25.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $10.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $480.00 to $585.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price objective (up previously from $550.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $557.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $542.00 price target (down from $580.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $588.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total transaction of $3,793,275.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 201,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,964,243.54. This represents a 3.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas H. Jones sold 729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $505.77, for a total value of $368,706.33. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 7,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,819,575.04. This trade represents a 8.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,512 shares of company stock worth $7,805,146 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.