US Bancorp DE Trims Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

US Bancorp DE lessened its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,767 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 912 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $57,744,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $752.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Truist Financial reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 price objective (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Finally, Vertical Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $688.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $711.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $100.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.42, a P/E/G ratio of 5.23 and a beta of 0.04. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $450.13 and a 52-week high of $745.55. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $654.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $607.29.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 31.72%.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total transaction of $1,575,226.29. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,661.11. This represents a 93.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total transaction of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

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.