Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 308,680 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,466,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 75.0% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on NOC. BTIG Research boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $500.00 to $580.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $696.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $646.94.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $568.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $640.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $589.18 and a 200 day moving average of $549.80. The company has a market cap of $81.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.07.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. The business had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.00 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 33.24%.

About Northrop Grumman

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.