California Public Employees Retirement System Has $221.67 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 324,911 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 35,054 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.23% of Northrop Grumman worth $221,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 367.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,487.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 16,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 15,309 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 6.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,865 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,432,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Northrop Grumman News

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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $620.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $628.00 to $587.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $676.29.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $523.19 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $493.84 and a 52-week high of $774.00. The company has a market capitalization of $74.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of -0.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average of $538.07 and a 200-day moving average of $623.81.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released 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 return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.80%.The company had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.06 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio 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.