Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Purchases 3,806 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,409 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,806 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,421,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,710,554,000 after purchasing an additional 155,344 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,457,274,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,115,519 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,554,299,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,466,472,000 after buying an additional 308,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $491,985,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $619.31 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $640.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $570.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $571.51. The company has a market capitalization of $88.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.00 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,835,230. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,097 shares of company stock valued at $6,099,716. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: Trump floated a dramatic $1.5 trillion 2027 defense budget, which lifted defense stocks and boosted investor expectations for higher government spending that would benefit large contractors like Northrop. Trump proposes massive increase in 2027 defense spending to $1.5T
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop won a Navy contract (~$94.3M) for solid rocket motors (SSRM), adding near-term revenue and strengthening backlog in propulsion/ordnance. Northrop Grumman wins $94.3 million Navy contract for rocket motors
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop was competitively awarded the Marine Corps CCA work (with Kratos’ Valkyrie UAS) to rapidly develop collaborative combat aircraft — a program win that supports future unmanned/autonomy revenue. Northrop Grumman to Rapidly Develop Marine Corps CCA with Kratos’ Valkyrie UAS
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop launched a digitally enhanced ICBM target vehicle, highlighting product development and tech leadership that can support future DoD awards. Northrop Grumman launches digitally enhanced ICBM target vehicle
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and research services note Northrop’s strong earnings-surprise history and Zacks/other research highlighting the company as a potential beat ahead of quarterly results, supporting bullish expectations. Will Northrop Grumman (NOC) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical indicators (golden cross / rising relative strength) are signaling short-term momentum, which can attract technical buyers ahead of earnings. Northrop Grumman (NOC) Just Flashed Golden Cross Signal
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks issued small EPS revisions (mixed downgrades/raises) that mostly keep FY2027 outlook stable but add estimate noise near the next report. MarketBeat NOC coverage (Zacks estimates)
• Negative Sentiment: President Trump signed/ordered curbs on buybacks/dividends and signaled caps on executive pay for underperforming contractors — a material policy risk that could limit shareholder returns and triggered selling pressure across the sector. Trump signs order to block defense companies from buying back stock until arms production improves
• Negative Sentiment: Northrop’s CEO disclosed recent sales of several thousand shares (Jan. 5–6), which some investors view negatively amid heightened policy scrutiny. SEC Form 4 — Kathy J. Warden
• Negative Sentiment: After Trump’s comments and orders, intraday headlines showed immediate selling pressure on defense names, which weighed on Northrop despite positive contract/news flow. Northrop Grumman Stock Drops After Trump Warns Against Buybacks Over Investment

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. UBS Group raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $623.00 target price (down previously from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.35.

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.