Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Makes New $1.89 Million Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 3,710 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,890,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,001,616,000. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,958,151,000 after buying an additional 970,029 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,793,478,000 after acquiring an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,781,986,000 after acquiring an additional 128,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,298,141,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,405,299.29. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $545.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.06. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $479.02 and a one year high of $774.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $542.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $604.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $77.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.15 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 31.39%.

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.