Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stake Cut by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 57.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,118 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,487 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,466,472,000 after buying an additional 308,680 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $640,534,000 after acquiring an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 49,898.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 169,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $84,744,000 after acquiring an additional 169,155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total value of $14,176,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. This trade represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total value of $1,575,226.29. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,661.11. This represents a 93.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 32,381 shares of company stock worth $21,916,371 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Vertical Research reissued a “hold” rating and set a $688.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $765.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $736.60 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $639.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $602.75. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $745.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The firm had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.39 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

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.