Barclays PLC Acquires 28,059 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 486,439 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 28,059 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.34% of Northrop Grumman worth $296,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,531,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,245,066,000 after purchasing an additional 109,941 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth $6,457,274,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,115,519 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,554,299,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.8% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,466,472,000 after buying an additional 308,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 26.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $640,534,000 after buying an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $757.70 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $675.40 and a 200-day moving average of $614.32. The stock has a market cap of $107.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.03. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $450.13 and a 52-week high of $774.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.10.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NOC. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $727.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $623.00 price target (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $693.60.

Key Stories Impacting Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: Won a $225.1M Naval Air Systems Command contract to develop training materials for the E-130J program, providing immediate revenue and strengthening NOC’s role in airborne training systems. Northrop Grumman Secures a $225M Contract to Aid E-130J Program
• Positive Sentiment: Secured additional U.S. Space Force and Navy contract actions that expand its deep‑space radar and E-130J-related work, extending backlog and revenue visibility. Northrop Grumman Contracts Extend Backlog And Deepen Long Term Defense Ties
• Positive Sentiment: Awarded work to supply aircraft protection systems to Germany, reinforcing export and allied sales momentum. Northrop Grumman to supply aircraft protection systems to Germany
• Positive Sentiment: White House meeting where defense CEOs agreed to markedly ramp production of advanced weaponry — a policy/PR tailwind that implies higher future demand across prime contractors including NOC. Trump says defense CEOs agree to quadruple production of `Exquisite Class’ weaponry
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive: the stock carries an average “Moderate Buy” consensus, supporting investor confidence in shares. Northrop Grumman Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy”
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail investors and market commentators are rotating back into defense names amid geopolitical volatility, a flow that can amplify moves but is fickle. Retail investor buying holds strong
• Negative Sentiment: Pentagon plans to ban Chinese-origin rare‑earth magnets in military platforms starting 2027, creating a supply-chain re‑qualification and potential cost headwind for manufacturers that use high-performance magnets. This could increase sourcing costs and delays for some NOC systems depending on exposure. U.S. Defense Manufacturers Face A Rare Earth Supply Squeeze
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage highlights the broader industry scramble to build domestic rare‑earth supply chains—good long term, but costly and potentially disruptive in the near term. Why Trump Wants Magnets More Than Gold

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,661.11. This trade represents a 93.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total transaction of $14,176,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,634,929.64. This trade represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman 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.