AlphaQuest LLC Grows Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 3,953.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,770 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 3,677 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 75.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $623.00 price target (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.72.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $4,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 194,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $116,761,200. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,097 shares of company stock worth $6,099,716. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $692.54 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $705.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market cap of $98.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $599.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $588.40.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

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.