Kathy Warden Sells 3,000 Shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) CEO Kathy Warden sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 191,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,835,230. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $591.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $569.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $570.68. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $640.90. The firm has a market cap of $84.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.05.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.43 by $1.24. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.00 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 33.24%.

Key Stories Impacting Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: President Trump floated a dramatic increase in U.S. defense spending (a $1.5T 2027 target), which lifted shares across the defense complex and is the primary catalyst for today’s rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop was competitively awarded the Marine Corps’ Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) development work in partnership with Kratos (Valkyrie UAS), strengthening its unmanned/air-dominance pipeline. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop also won a Navy contract for solid-rocket motors (reported ~ $94.3M), adding near-term revenue and backlog support in propulsion/ordnance. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Technicals and relative-strength commentary have improved ahead of Q4 results, which can reinforce momentum buying into the earnings catalyst. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts at Zacks issued a string of small EPS estimate tweaks (mixed raises and cuts across quarters), leaving FY outlook broadly stable but introducing some near-term forecast noise. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The White House signed and reiterated measures to block dividends and stock buybacks for defense firms until production shortfalls are fixed — a direct risk to Northrop’s shareholder-return profile and a source of selling pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Kathy Warden disclosed recent sales of NOC shares (multiple transactions Jan. 5–6); while small relative to her holding, insider selling amid policy headlines can be interpreted negatively by the market. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Markets saw an earlier pullback in defense names after the administration’s warnings on buybacks/dividends, highlighting the risk that positive budget rhetoric may be offset by restrictive policy actions. Read More.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $688.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $651.18.

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.