Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 4,884 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 5.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 87,133 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 4,884 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $59,445,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 61,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $41,914,000 after purchasing an additional 4,041 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,835,097,000 after purchasing an additional 209,135 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.7% in 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth about $1,987,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,793,478,000 after buying an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Key Northrop Grumman News

Here are the key news stories impacting Northrop Grumman this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Northrop Grumman’s Q2 earnings beat expectations, and the company lifted its full-year sales guidance while highlighting strong contract wins and a record backlog, reinforcing the investment case for the stock. Is Northrop Grumman (NOC) Undervalued As Earnings Beat And Guidance Rise?
• Positive Sentiment: Broader defense sector strength is helping sentiment, with defense ETFs benefiting from higher military spending, solid quarterly results across peers, and rising geopolitical tensions that could support future demand. Defense ETFs in Focus Amid Earnings, Conflict and Military Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Several articles and analyst notes say Northrop Grumman may still be undervalued or better positioned than other industrial names, which supports investor interest after the earnings report. How Much Could a $5,000 Investment in SpaceX Be Worth By 2030? Here’s Why This Industrial Stock May Be a Better Buy Today.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain mixed, with UBS reportedly sticking to a Buy rating while TD Cowen and JPMorgan lowered price targets, suggesting expectations are still being recalibrated after earnings.
• Neutral Sentiment: Northrop Grumman also drew attention for its new robotic satellite servicing vehicle and mission extension pods, which may support long-term space systems growth but are not an immediate earnings driver. Northrop Grumman’s Mission Robotic Vehicle Launched Into Space; Operations Begin In 2027

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $580.00 to $550.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $655.24.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 1.6%

NOC stock opened at $542.09 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $479.02 and a 52 week high of $774.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $535.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $622.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $76.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.46 and a beta of -0.10.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.80 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.15 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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