Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,157 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $28,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,612 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $11,183,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 147 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,380 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $787,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 477.1% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 115,713 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $65,981,000 after buying an additional 95,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 50,115 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $28,589,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $660.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $702.63.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $549.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.75 and a beta of -0.12. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $481.28 and a 1-year high of $774.00. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $589.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $630.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.80%.The company’s revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.06 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 EPS 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 paid a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio 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.