Patton Fund Management Inc. Purchases 4,578 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Patton Fund Management Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1,090.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 4,578 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,835,097,000 after buying an additional 209,135 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 39.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,793,478,000 after buying an additional 17,948 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,781,986,000 after acquiring an additional 128,855 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,666,517 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $950,265,000 after acquiring an additional 62,817 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $700.53.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $499.84 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $489.26 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $556.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $628.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of -0.12. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.06 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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 analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $2.47 dividend. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Northrop Grumman Profile

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.