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

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,710 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,890,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 61,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,914,000 after buying an additional 4,041 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $1,793,478,000 after acquiring an additional 17,948 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 70.1% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,497 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $90,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,781,986,000 after purchasing an additional 128,855 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

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

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The company had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.15 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NOC. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 price objective on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $666.00 to $685.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $661.30.

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.