Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 3.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,534 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $59,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Focused Investors LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 211,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,054,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,739,000 after buying an additional 4,721 shares during the last quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth approximately $2,818,000. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $1,015,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $491,985,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. This trade represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 151 shares in the company, valued at $108,661.11. This represents a 93.55% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.1%

NOC opened at $725.81 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $450.13 and a 12 month high of $745.55. 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 stock has a market cap of $103.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.92, a P/E/G ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $657.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $608.68.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, February 1st. Vertical Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $688.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $727.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $752.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

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.