Equitable Holdings Inc. Acquires New Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Equitable Holdings Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 9,669 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,925,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,001,616,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 970,029 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in 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 buying an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,781,986,000 after buying an additional 128,855 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,298,141,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $653.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $661.30.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $544.68 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $541.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $605.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $77.36 billion, a PE ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $479.02 and a 12-month high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 10.48%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $8.15 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.39%.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.