Appleton Partners Inc. MA Has $3.37 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Appleton Partners Inc. MA lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 74.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,533 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 15,858 shares during the period. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,371,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.8% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,466,472,000 after buying an additional 308,680 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $640,534,000 after purchasing an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 49,898.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 169,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,744,000 after buying an additional 169,155 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $709.77 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.17 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. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $711.88. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $612.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $594.59.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The business had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue 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 expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.00, for a total transaction of $4,200,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 194,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $116,761,200. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 10,192 shares of company stock valued at $6,164,745 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NOC. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 target price (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $765.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.79.

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.