Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) to Issue Dividend Increase – $2.47 Per Share

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of 2.47 per share by the aerospace company on Wednesday, June 17th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a 6.9% increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31.

Northrop Grumman has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. Northrop Grumman has a dividend payout ratio of 32.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Northrop Grumman to earn $30.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $9.24 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.6%.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $555.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $78.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman has a 52-week low of $468.29 and a 52-week high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $647.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $633.35.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.06 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman will post 27.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total value of $107,748.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,774.50. This represents a 5.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 54.0% during the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,675 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,190,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 115.3% during the first quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems now owns 18,328 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $12,504,000 after acquiring an additional 9,814 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,580 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,169,000 after acquiring an additional 777 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.6% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 104,646 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $71,394,000 after acquiring an additional 8,897 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% 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.