Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd Buys New Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 82,596 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,097,000.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,147 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,365,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 39,990 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $22,803,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 876 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Ignite Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 94.3% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 2,368 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $660.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus set a $785.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $704.74.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $556.01 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $468.29 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00. The firm has a market cap of $78.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of -0.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $636.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $632.39. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.06 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.06 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 28.92%.

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.