VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New Investment in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 58,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,049,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 23.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,139,333 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,631,390,000 after purchasing an additional 974,633 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,425.2% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,001,198 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $512,624,000 after purchasing an additional 935,554 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth about $369,205,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,266,301 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,792,479,000 after buying an additional 588,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 98.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 899,114 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $460,355,000 after buying an additional 446,940 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $594.15 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $592.48 and a 200-day moving average of $537.35. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $640.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $85.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 5.78 and a beta of 0.10.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.84 by $0.27. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 25.52%. The company had revenue of $10.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.000-25.400 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Wall Street Zen raised Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $547.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $688.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $613.15.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company’s Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.