Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Lowers Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,270 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,069 shares during the quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT owned approximately 0.07% of Northrop Grumman worth $56,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Focused Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 211,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,054,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,739,000 after buying an additional 4,721 shares in the last quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at about $2,818,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $1,015,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $491,985,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total transaction of $107,748.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,774.50. This represents a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total transaction of $14,176,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. This trade represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $728.91 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $450.13 and a twelve month high of $745.55. 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 cap of $103.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 5.39 and a beta of 0.04. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $648.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $605.88.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The company had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.39 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter 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. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on NOC. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, January 12th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $765.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.