Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 128,855 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,781,986,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 415.8% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 10,316 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,959,000 after buying an additional 8,316 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the fourth quarter worth approximately $139,000. CNB Bank increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. CNB Bank now owns 2,711 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Bcwm LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Bcwm LLC now owns 17,166 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,788,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 130.0% during the fourth quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 138 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $544.73 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $603.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $631.56. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $472.02 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 stock has a market cap of $77.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of -0.12.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $9.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.75 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.06 EPS. The company’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. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $2.47 dividend. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $765.00 to $745.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus set a $785.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $660.00 to $620.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $702.63.

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.