World Investment Advisors Buys 1,853 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 70.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,497 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,853 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,564,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Nkcfo LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $2,986,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $63,822,000 after purchasing an additional 9,924 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $1,987,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 158,958 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $90,639,000 after buying an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $521.85 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $574.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $629.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.33, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of -0.12. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $481.28 and a 52 week high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.80%.The business had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st were given a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 30.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $660.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $806.00 to $745.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $702.63.

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.