Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Acquired by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 397,885 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,240 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $271,453,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 61,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,914,000 after acquiring an additional 4,041 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew 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 last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,987,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 17,948 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Headlines Impacting Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: Defense stocks are benefiting from a broader sector rally as investors respond to expectations for stronger U.S. military spending, including a proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget backdrop. Northrop Grumman rises as defense-spending tailwinds and program momentum lift sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention is building ahead of Northrop Grumman’s July 21 Q2 results, with a strong backlog and government contract momentum expected to support the quarter. Northrop Grumman to Post Q2 Earnings: Here’s What to Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Recent program news, including work tied to Sentinel infrastructure, is reinforcing the long-term growth story for strategic deterrence and aerospace missions. Northrop Grumman Planning To Add Hundreds Of Jobs For Sentinel
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains mixed-to-positive, with recent coverage focused on key earnings metrics and margin sensitivity, especially around the Sentinel program.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider trading data shows no open-market insider buying in the last six months, while several executives have sold shares, which may temper some enthusiasm.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.9%

NOC stock opened at $523.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of -0.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $538.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $623.81. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $493.84 and a 52 week high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.80%.The firm had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, equities research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NOC. Citigroup reduced their target price on Northrop Grumman from $628.00 to $587.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $676.29.

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.