Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Syntax Research Inc.

Syntax Research Inc. decreased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 50.0% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Syntax Research Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,835,097,000 after acquiring an additional 209,135 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 111,927 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $63,822,000 after acquiring an additional 9,924 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth about $1,987,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,793,478,000 after purchasing an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $90,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $520.73 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $546.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $627.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of -0.10. 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 $489.52 and a 52-week high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.06 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on NOC shares. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $815.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Two investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $698.37.

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.