Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 21,357 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its Northrop Grumman stake by 6.4% in Q1, selling 21,357 shares and leaving it with 312,115 shares valued at about $212.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: several firms cut price targets, but the stock still carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating with an average target price of $688.89.
• Northrop Grumman beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $6.14 and revenue of $9.88 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $2.47 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 312,115 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 21,357 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of Northrop Grumman worth $212,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Karpus Management Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NOC. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $628.00 to $587.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings cut Northrop Grumman from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $688.89.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $531.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $75.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of -0.10. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $493.84 and a 12 month high of $774.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $541.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $626.29.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.06 earnings per share. The firm'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, equities research analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. 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%.

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.

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