Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $25.64 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 50,348 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,643,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,405,299.29. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $545.83 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $479.02 and a 52 week high of $774.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $542.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $604.78. The company has a market capitalization of $77.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 10.48%.The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.15 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st 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 of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $620.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $653.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $661.30.

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.