Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 57.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,282 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,721 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 308,680 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 221,431 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 49,898.2% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 169,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,744,000 after acquiring an additional 169,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,192 shares of company stock valued at $20,341,145. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE NOC opened at $702.20 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $626.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $599.09. 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 company has a market capitalization of $99.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.04. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $426.24 and a 12 month high of $715.61.

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, 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 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 business earned $6.39 EPS. The firm’s 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. Research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 31.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Argus set a $785.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

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.