Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Bought by AIA Group Ltd

AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 68.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,999 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $10,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kestra Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC now owns 353 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 235 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $134,000 after acquiring an additional 15 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,143 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $651,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 1,973 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 4,012 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,288,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Northrop Grumman

Here are the key news stories impacting Northrop Grumman this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Defense stocks are benefiting from a broader sector rally as investors respond to expectations for stronger U.S. military spending, including a proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget backdrop. Northrop Grumman rises as defense-spending tailwinds and program momentum lift sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention is building ahead of Northrop Grumman’s July 21 Q2 results, with a strong backlog and government contract momentum expected to support the quarter. Northrop Grumman to Post Q2 Earnings: Here’s What to Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Recent program news, including work tied to Sentinel infrastructure, is reinforcing the long-term growth story for strategic deterrence and aerospace missions. Northrop Grumman Planning To Add Hundreds Of Jobs For Sentinel
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains mixed-to-positive, with recent coverage focused on key earnings metrics and margin sensitivity, especially around the Sentinel program.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider trading data shows no open-market insider buying in the last six months, while several executives have sold shares, which may temper some enthusiasm.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $676.29.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $523.19 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of -0.10. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $493.84 and a 52 week high of $774.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $538.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $623.81.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.06 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

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.