Advisors Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 10.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,941 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 934 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,839,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the third quarter worth about $30,000. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 75.0% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $702.20 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $626.71 and a 200-day moving average of $598.91. The company has a market cap of $99.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.16 and a beta of 0.04. 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 Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $715.61.

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

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on NOC shares. 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. Argus set a $785.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,192 shares of company stock worth $20,341,145. 0.23% of the stock is owned by 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.