Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 18.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,674 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,271 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coign Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $687,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the second quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.9% during the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Argus set a $785.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $752.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.9%

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $722.73 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $102.57 billion, a PE ratio of 24.81, a P/E/G ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.04. 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’s fifty day moving average is $642.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $603.86. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $437.83 and a 1-year high of $745.55.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.39 EPS. The business’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, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $108,661.11. The trade was a 93.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total transaction of $107,748.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,774.50. This trade represents a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About Northrop Grumman

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.