Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Bought by Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 24.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,564 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 200.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $727.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 price objective (down previously from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Vertical Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $688.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, 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, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total transaction of $14,176,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,634,929.64. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $725.37 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $645.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $604.84. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $449.20 and a one year high of $745.55. The stock has a market cap of $102.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.90, a PEG ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.39 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. 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.