Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stock Position Lowered by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC decreased its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 824 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,421,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,710,554,000 after purchasing an additional 155,344 shares during the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $6,457,274,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,115,519 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,554,299,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 11.8% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,466,472,000 after buying an additional 308,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 26.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $640,534,000 after buying an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 191,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,835,230. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,192 shares of company stock valued at $6,164,745. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $765.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $623.00 price target (down previously from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.79.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC stock opened at $691.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $98.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $607.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $592.53. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $709.39.

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

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

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.