Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 372,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 21,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $212,486,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Capital World Investors increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 970,029 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 272.8% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 401,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $229,033,000 after purchasing an additional 293,909 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $137,280,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 209,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on NOC. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $660.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $702.63.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.8%

NYSE:NOC opened at $552.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.70 and a beta of -0.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $592.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $630.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $481.28 and a 12-month high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.06 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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