Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Bought by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,967 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $7,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 367.7% during the 1st 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 during the period. AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,487.8% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 16,338 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,169,000 after buying an additional 15,309 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,865 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,432,000 after buying an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $742.00 to $628.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Northrop Grumman from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Northrop Grumman from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $702.63.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $499.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $70.88 billion, a PE ratio of 15.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.43 and a beta of -0.12. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $559.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $628.63. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $487.68 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $9.75 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.06 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 1st. This is a boost from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s dividend 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.