Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,435 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,326 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $9,396,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 30.9% during the third quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 636 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $307,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.4% during the third quarter. Retirement Planning Group LLC now owns 1,401 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 19.8% in the third quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 703 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Kaufman Rossin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $281,000. Finally, Grant Private Wealth Management Inc grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 48.3% in the third quarter. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc now owns 1,566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $539.46 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $76.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $470.06 and a one year high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $522.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $548.98.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.67 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Key Northrop Grumman News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings beat estimates: Adjusted earnings were $7.89 per share, above the roughly $7.18–$7.22 consensus, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion, broadly matching expectations. Reuters earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance was raised: NOC now expects fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS of $29.35–$29.75, above the approximately $28.97 consensus. Revenue guidance of $43.8 billion–$44.3 billion is centered near Wall Street expectations. Northrop Grumman financial results
• Positive Sentiment: Record backlog supports visibility: Backlog reached approximately $109.6 billion, or about $110 billion, up roughly 20% year over year. Third-quarter awards totaled $16.4 billion, and management cited strong demand across defense and space programs.
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-term growth outlook improved: Management is targeting 5%–7% sales growth in 2027, supported by B-21 investments, while sales increased across all four operating segments in the latest quarter. Q3 earnings call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment strengthened: BNP Paribas Exane raised its target to $600 and assigned an “outperform” rating; Baird reportedly lifted its target to $675 and upgraded the shares. These revisions reinforce the view that the recent pullback may offer valuation support. Analyst price target revisions
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors continue to view NOC as an income-oriented defense stock backed by long-term Pentagon contracts, but the stock remains down about 17% year to date, keeping valuation and dividend sustainability central to the investment case.
• Negative Sentiment: Higher capital spending, potential margin pressure, paused buybacks, and uncertainty over future defense budgets could limit near-term upside despite the record backlog.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the sale, the director owned 4,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,405,299.29. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, 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 owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NOC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $556.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $612.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $641.35.

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.