Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Shares in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 6,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,639,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. First American Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. First American Bank now owns 17,057 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,637,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 10,967 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the last quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 6,676 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,555,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,748 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,557,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 7.0% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,967 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,342,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1%

NOC opened at $499.84 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $556.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $627.73. The company has a market capitalization of $70.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of -0.12. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $489.26 and a 52 week high of $774.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results 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. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.80%.The business had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $700.53.

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.