Aquatic Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 14,224 Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Aquatic Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 14,224 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,667,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,531,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,245,066,000 after purchasing an additional 109,941 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,457,274,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,996,284 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,825,696,000 after buying an additional 63,223 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,624,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $990,046,000 after buying an additional 4,844 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 26.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $640,534,000 after acquiring an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $733.88 on Monday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $691.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $619.81. The stock has a market cap of $104.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.03. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $450.13 and a 12-month high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The firm had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’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. Equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 presently 31.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NOC. Vertical Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $688.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus set a $785.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $693.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at $121,634,929.64. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404. 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.