Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Acquired by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors grew its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 39.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 970,029 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned about 2.42% of Northrop Grumman worth $1,958,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 367.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,487.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 16,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 15,309 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.7% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,865 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,432,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Citigroup cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $660.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Argus set a $785.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $702.63.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.1%

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $544.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $472.02 and a 1-year high of $774.00. The company has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of -0.12. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $603.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $631.07.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.80%.The firm had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is a leading U.S.-based aerospace and defense company that designs, builds and sustains advanced systems, products and technologies for government and commercial customers. Formed through the combination of Northrop and Grumman businesses in the 1990s, the company’s portfolio spans manned and unmanned aircraft, space systems, missile defense, radar and sensor systems, and integrated command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) solutions.

The company’s work includes airframe and platform manufacturing, space hardware and satellite systems, advanced mission systems and cybersecurity services, as well as logistics, sustainment and modernization programs.