Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys New Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 25,700 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,089,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have 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 purchasing an additional 209,135 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,001,616,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,958,151,000 after buying an additional 970,029 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,793,478,000 after buying an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,781,986,000 after buying an additional 128,855 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $552.29 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $479.02 and a 1-year high of $774.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $78.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of -0.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $541.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $609.53.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.86. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 10.48%.The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $8.15 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.39%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $653.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced 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, June 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $661.30.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.