Rakuten Investment Management Inc. Has $10.27 Million Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Rakuten Investment Management increased its Northrop Grumman stake by 381% in the fourth quarter, ending with 17,779 shares valued at about $10.27 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with hedge funds and other institutions holding about 83.4% of Northrop Grumman shares; several firms also recently adjusted positions in the stock.
• Northrop Grumman beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $6.14 on revenue of $9.88 billion, and it raised its quarterly dividend to $2.47 per share from $2.31.

Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 381.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,779 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,083 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $10,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in 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. Nkcfo LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $2,986,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter valued at $1,987,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NOC. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $800.00 target price for the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $702.63.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $551.67 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $583.62 and a 200-day moving average of $630.55. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $481.28 and a one year high of $774.00. The company has a market cap of $78.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.72 and a beta of -0.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.06 EPS. The company's quarterly 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 analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman's previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman's 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.

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