Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 215,121 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 26.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 592,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 215,121 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $337,727,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,835,097,000 after acquiring an additional 209,135 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,958,151,000 after acquiring an additional 970,029 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,793,478,000 after acquiring an additional 17,948 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,996,284 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,825,696,000 after acquiring an additional 63,223 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,624,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $990,046,000 after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $544.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of -0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $603.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $631.07. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $472.02 and a one year high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.06 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NOC shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $660.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $702.63.

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.