Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System reduced its Northrop Grumman stake by 2.4% in the first quarter, selling 5,165 shares and retaining 210,197 shares valued at approximately $143.4 million.
• Northrop Grumman reported quarterly revenue of $10.88 billion and adjusted EPS of $7.68, surpassing analyst expectations, while revenue increased 5.1% year over year. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $2.47 per share, or $9.88 annually.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $659, although several firms recently lowered their targets. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of the company.

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 210,197 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 5,165 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.15% of Northrop Grumman worth $143,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,958,151,000 after purchasing an additional 970,029 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 56,920.9% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 421,955 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $240,603,000 after purchasing an additional 421,215 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 272.8% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 401,664 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $229,033,000 after purchasing an additional 293,909 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,835,097,000 after buying an additional 209,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,086.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 192,583 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $109,813,000 after buying an additional 176,352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $550.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $78.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.48, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of -0.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $535.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $621.55. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $479.02 and a twelve month high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The business had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.15 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 31.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $815.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a "positive" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $659.00.

Northrop Grumman 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.

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