Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Stake Lifted by Advisor OS LLC

Advisor OS LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 48,593 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the quarter. Northrop Grumman accounts for 2.6% of Advisor OS LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Advisor OS LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $29,608,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Focused Investors LLC raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the third quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 211,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,054,000 after buying an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.5% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,721 shares during the last quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter valued at about $2,818,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,015,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 81,747 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $49,810,000 after purchasing an additional 3,215 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $623.00 price objective (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $693.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total transaction of $107,748.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,850,774.50. This represents a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $704.50 on Thursday. 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 50 day moving average price of $651.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $606.57. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $450.13 and a 1-year high of $745.55. The firm has a market cap of $99.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.40 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.72%.

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.