Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Trims Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 312,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 21,357 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $212,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 61,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,914,000 after buying an additional 4,041 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,835,097,000 after buying an additional 209,135 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 111,927 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $63,822,000 after acquiring an additional 9,924 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,987,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,793,478,000 after acquiring an additional 17,948 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on NOC shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $620.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.89.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $531.54 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $541.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $626.29. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $493.84 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of -0.10.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.06 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’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. Research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.92%.

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.