Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 96.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,795 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 46,022 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $57,150,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,457,274,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 308,680 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 26.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 49,898.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 169,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $84,744,000 after purchasing an additional 169,155 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,421,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,710,554,000 after purchasing an additional 155,344 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total value of $107,748.06. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total value of $14,176,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $765.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. 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. Finally, Vertical Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $688.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $733.88 on Monday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $450.13 and a 12 month high of $774.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $691.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $619.81.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 31.72%.

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.