Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Lord Abbett & CO. LLC

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 301,799 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 35,048 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $172,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,958,151,000 after acquiring an additional 970,029 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 272.8% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 401,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $229,033,000 after buying an additional 293,909 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at $137,280,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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. Finally, M&T Bank Corp grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 1,086.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 192,583 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $109,813,000 after buying an additional 176,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $549.42 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $589.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $630.38. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $481.28 and a 52-week high of $774.00. The firm has a market cap of $78.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.77 and a beta of -0.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NOC. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $660.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $702.63.

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.