Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service grew its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 396,442 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,620 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $201,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 50,207.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 105,745,489 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $53,857,235,000 after purchasing an additional 105,535,292 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,001,616,000. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 39.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 970,029 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 worth $1,793,478,000 after purchasing an additional 17,948 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in 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 during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $704.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $662.25.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.6%

NOC opened at $518.78 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $544.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $592.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $73.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $479.02 and a one year high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $8.15 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.39%.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and delivers systems, platforms and technologies for government and commercial customers. Its activities include the design and production of military aircraft, autonomous systems, spacecraft, launch vehicles, missile-defense systems, command-and-control networks, cyber solutions, sensors and other mission-critical technologies.

The company serves the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and international customers.