Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Director Sells $65,029.40 in Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark Welsh III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total transaction of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. This trade represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded up $20.29 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $705.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 706,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,162,997. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $707.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $601.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $590.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $100.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.39 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 31.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on NOC. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. BTIG Research upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.79.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at about $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,466,472,000 after purchasing an additional 308,680 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 272.8% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 401,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $229,033,000 after purchasing an additional 293,909 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $137,280,000. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.