Kentucky Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC – Free Report) by 115.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 18,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,814 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $12,504,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.4% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,580 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,169,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 15.6% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Amundi lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 9.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 104,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $71,394,000 after purchasing an additional 8,897 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Talon Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 1st quarter worth about $2,826,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $620.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings cut Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $659.00.
Northrop Grumman Stock Performance
NOC opened at $535.52 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $479.02 and a 52-week high of $774.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $76.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of -0.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $535.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $621.16.
Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.15 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $2.47 dividend. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.39%.
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.
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