Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Holdings Increased by OLD Second National Bank of Aurora

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,476 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,149 shares during the quarter. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,098,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.0% in the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 61,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,914,000 after buying an additional 4,041 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,707,203,000 after buying an additional 168,267 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $3,308,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $1,298,141,000. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $5,773,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NOC opened at $552.82 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $521.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $547.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.44, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $470.06 and a 52 week high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.17%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,405,299.29. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Northrop Grumman this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings beat and guidance raise: Northrop Grumman reported adjusted earnings of $7.89 per share, well above the $7.18 consensus estimate. Management raised its fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS outlook to $29.35-$29.75, compared with the $28.97 analyst consensus, while revenue guidance of $43.8 billion-$44.3 billion remained broadly in line with expectations. NOC’s Q3 Earnings Call Highlights 2027 Growth and B-21 Spending
• Positive Sentiment: Record backlog supports future revenue: Backlog reached approximately $109.6 billion-$110 billion, up about 20% year over year. Investors viewed the backlog as evidence of strong demand across Northrop’s defense and space businesses, including the B-21 program. Management is targeting 5%-7% sales growth in 2027. Q3 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment improved: Robert W. Baird upgraded NOC from Hold to Outperform and raised its price target to $675 from $550. BNP Paribas Exane also lifted its target to $600 and maintained an Outperform rating, citing the “beat and raise” quarter and longer-term growth prospects. Northrop Grumman Analysts Boost Their Forecasts
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor focus remains on execution: The earnings discussion highlighted multi-year growth opportunities and strong defense demand, while the AUSA 2026 interview provided additional management visibility. However, RBC only raised its target to $550 and kept a Sector Perform rating, indicating that some analysts view the favorable outlook as already reflected in the shares.
• Negative Sentiment: Spending and margin risks persist: Higher capital expenditures, B-21 investment requirements, margin pressure, and paused buybacks could limit near-term cash returns and create execution challenges despite the strong backlog. Are RTX Corporation and Northrop Grumman Ready to Break Out?

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $590.00 to $540.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $635.00 to $600.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $533.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $641.83.

Northrop Grumman Company Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.