Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Acquires 7,916 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 41.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,129 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 7,916 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $18,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in 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 last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 56,920.9% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 421,955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $240,603,000 after acquiring an additional 421,215 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 272.8% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 401,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $229,033,000 after acquiring an additional 293,909 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,086.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 192,583 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $109,813,000 after purchasing an additional 176,352 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $528.38 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $75.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of -0.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $539.92 and a 200-day moving average of $625.33. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $493.84 and a one year high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.06 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $2.47 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 30.92%.

Key Headlines Impacting Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: Northrop Grumman broke ground on a new facility in Utah to support the U.S. Air Force Sentinel ICBM program and other advanced aerospace and defense missions, signaling continued investment in long-term growth and strategic deterrence work. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted that Northrop Grumman may beat upcoming earnings estimates, suggesting expectations for solid quarterly results and supporting investor optimism ahead of the report. Article title
• Positive Sentiment: Broader commentary about a potential $50 billion influx into defense stocks could provide sector support for Northrop Grumman as investors continue rotating into defense contractors. Article title
• Neutral Sentiment: Northrop Grumman was also cited in a pre-earnings note stating it is expected to announce results soon, reinforcing that the market is focused on the upcoming quarterly update rather than a new company-specific development. Article title
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the constructive news flow, the stock has been sliding, likely reflecting investor caution ahead of earnings and broader concerns about valuation or execution after recent gains. Article title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on NOC shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $628.00 to $587.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $620.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price 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. 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $676.29.

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.