Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Private Capital Advisors Inc.

Private Capital Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,418 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,717 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman makes up 1.2% of Private Capital Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Private Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $11,643,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,811 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,597,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $47,097,000. 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 buying 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 buying an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 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 buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $660.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Sunday, April 26th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $704.74.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $556.01 on Friday. 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 fifty day moving average price of $636.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $632.39. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $468.29 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The stock has a market cap of $78.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company earned $6.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current 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 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.