Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Sells 118,657 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 12.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 846,131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 118,657 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for 2.7% of Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $482,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $815.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $660.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $702.63.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $538.94 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $472.02 and a 12-month high of $774.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.84 and a beta of -0.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $615.77 and a 200-day moving average of $632.15.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 28.92%.

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.