Cercano Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Cercano Management LLC lessened its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 68.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 22,552 shares during the quarter. Cercano Management LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Coign Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $647,000 after buying an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the third quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the third quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NOC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Vertical Research reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $688.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $693.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 30,192 shares of company stock valued at $20,341,145. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NOC stock opened at $699.45 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $632.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $600.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.04. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $715.61. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be 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 of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.72%.

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.