CENTRAL TRUST Co Sells 101 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

CENTRAL TRUST Co lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,009 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,004,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.4% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,631,390,000 after purchasing an additional 974,633 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,425.2% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,001,198 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $512,624,000 after buying an additional 935,554 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter valued at approximately $369,205,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,792,479,000 after buying an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 98.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 899,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $460,355,000 after acquiring an additional 446,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $566.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $591.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $546.94. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $640.90. The company has a market capitalization of $80.91 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.07.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. 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 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NOC. BTIG Research upped 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. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Truist Financial raised their price objective 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 reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $696.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $642.73.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.