Insider Selling: Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) CEO Sells 3,000 Shares of Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) CEO Kathy Warden sold 3,000 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded down $34.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $575.95. 1,643,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,002,711. The company has a market capitalization of $82.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $640.90. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $569.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $570.50.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.49% and a net margin of 9.82%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $696.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $700.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $651.18.

Trending Headlines about Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks analyst blog notes recent U.S. geopolitical action could benefit defense contractors, highlighting the sector as a beneficiary of shifting policy and potential new orders — a tailwind for NOC’s backlog and revenue outlook. Zacks Analyst Blog
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/momentum signals have strengthened — NOC’s relative strength rating rose to 75, which can attract momentum and ETF/quant flows. MSN: Relative Strength
• Positive Sentiment: Articles highlighting strong multi-year returns to shareholders reinforce longer-term investor confidence in NOC’s stock as a defense-play. These narratives can support buying interest after pullbacks. Benzinga: 5-year returns
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research issued a set of mixed, small EPS estimate tweaks across 2026–2027: modest downgrades for several quarters offset by slight raises for others, leaving FY consensus near $28.05 — minor near-term guidance noise but not a material change to the full-year view. (Zacks research notes)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several feature/analysis pieces question valuation after strong gains (“Is it too late?”) — these are discussion pieces that may influence sentiment but are not fresh fundamental drivers. Yahoo Finance: Is it too late?
• Negative Sentiment: President Trump said he “will not permit” defense companies to pay dividends or execute stock buybacks until they resolve production problems, and criticized executive pay — comments raise political/regulatory risk for capital returns and investor-friendly policies at defense contractors, pressuring NOC’s shareholder-return thesis. CNBC: Trump on dividends/buybacks Reuters: Trump on production and buybacks

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 200.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 75.0% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

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.