111,988 Shares in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Acquired by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 111,988 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,037,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the first quarter worth $30,000. Karpus Management Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 380.0% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, EFG International AG bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $513.89 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $544.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $598.31. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $479.02 and a 52-week high of $774.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $72.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.15 earnings per share. The firm’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. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 31.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NOC shares. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $590.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.