Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 21,217 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 353,291 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,217 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $201,684,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 4th 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. Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,986,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 111,927 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $63,822,000 after purchasing an additional 9,924 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,987,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $90,639,000 after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on NOC. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $702.63.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:NOC opened at $521.85 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of -0.12. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $481.28 and a twelve month high of $774.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $574.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $629.31. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue 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. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $2.47 dividend. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. 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.