Jennison Associates LLC Grows Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 272.8% in Q4 to 401,664 shares, a holding worth $229,033,000 (about 0.28% of the company).
• Northrop Grumman beat Q1 estimates (EPS $6.14 vs. $6.06; revenue $9.88B vs. $9.75B) and set FY2026 guidance of 27.40–27.90 EPS, roughly aligned with analysts' consensus of 27.86.
• Institutional investors own 83.4% of the stock, while insiders have recently sold 22,431 shares totaling about $15.9 million, including CEO Kathy Warden's sale of 20,000 shares at an average of $708.82.

Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 272.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 401,664 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 293,909 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.28% of Northrop Grumman worth $229,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 367.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,487.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 16,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 15,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.7% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,865 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $4,432,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $807.00 to $742.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $727.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $752.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $710.74.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.5%

NYSE NOC opened at $575.07 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $453.01 and a 52 week high of $774.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.68 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $691.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $637.16.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The firm had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.06 EPS. Northrop Grumman's revenue for the quarter 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, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.92%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total transaction of $14,176,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total transaction of $1,575,226.29. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 151 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $108,661.11. The trade was a 93.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 22,431 shares of company stock worth $15,924,404 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.

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