Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $681,000 Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 57.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,118 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,487 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,421,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,710,554,000 after acquiring an additional 155,344 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $6,457,274,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,115,519 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,554,299,000 after purchasing an additional 14,980 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 11.8% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,466,472,000 after purchasing an additional 308,680 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 26.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $640,534,000 after buying an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $752.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $727.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and set a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $736.60 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $745.55. The company has a 50 day moving average of $639.60 and a 200-day moving average of $602.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market cap of $104.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.29, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The business had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the sale, the director owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total transaction of $1,575,226.29. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $108,661.11. The trade was a 93.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 32,381 shares of company stock worth $21,916,371 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% 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.