National Pension Service Acquires 6,364 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

National Pension Service raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 383,037 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 6,364 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned about 0.27% of Northrop Grumman worth $233,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 price target (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.72.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,835,230. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 10,097 shares of company stock worth $6,099,716 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $692.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $98.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.05. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $705.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $599.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $588.90.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.72%.

Northrop Grumman 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.