Simplicity Wealth LLC Invests $925,000 in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Simplicity Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,816 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 61,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,914,000 after buying an additional 4,041 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 209,135 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 111,927 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $63,822,000 after buying an additional 9,924 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $1,793,478,000 after acquiring an additional 17,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 70.1% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 4,497 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NOC opened at $585.18 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $479.02 and a one year high of $774.00. The company has a market capitalization of $83.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 3.79 and a beta of -0.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $538.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $613.61.

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

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. 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 31.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $620.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $659.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the sale, the director owned 4,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.