Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 49.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,335 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 4,321 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,641,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 200.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BTIG Research lifted their price target 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, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $747.10 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $678.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $615.73. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $450.13 and a 12-month high of $774.00. The firm has a market cap of $106.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a PEG ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,661.11. This represents a 93.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was 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 owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,774.50. This represents a 5.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman 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.