Bank of Montreal Can Grows Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 202,162 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,911 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.14% of Northrop Grumman worth $123,181,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Focused Investors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the third 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 period. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.5% during the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,721 shares during the period. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,818,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,015,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 22,318 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $13,599,000 after buying an additional 2,644 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $733.57 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $104.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 0.03. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $450.13 and a one year high of $774.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $685.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $617.55. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research upped their price objective 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. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus set a $785.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $693.60.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other Northrop Grumman news, 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 value of $14,176,400.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 sale, the vice president owned 151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,661.11. The trade was a 93.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.