6,800 Shares in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Acquired by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 6,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,639,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Karpus Management Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $499.84 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $556.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $627.73. The firm 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. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $489.26 and a 52 week high of $774.00.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. 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. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $700.53.

About Northrop Grumman

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.