Insider Selling: Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) CAO Sells $107,748.06 in Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) CAO Michael Hardesty sold 147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total value of $107,748.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,774.50. This represents a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC stock opened at $722.73 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $437.83 and a 52-week high of $745.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $102.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.04. The business has a fifty day moving average of $642.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $603.86.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,835,097,000 after buying an additional 209,135 shares during the period. Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth approximately $6,457,274,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,958,151,000 after acquiring an additional 970,029 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,793,478,000 after acquiring an additional 17,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,781,986,000 after purchasing an additional 128,855 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $765.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus set a $785.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

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.