Mark Welsh III Sells 95 Shares of Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) Director Mark Welsh III sold 95 shares of the business’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 sale, the director owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE NOC opened at $691.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.04. 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 Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $709.39. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $607.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $592.53.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,835,097,000 after purchasing an additional 209,135 shares during the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,457,274,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,115,519 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,554,299,000 after buying an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,996,284 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,825,696,000 after acquiring an additional 63,223 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,624,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $990,046,000 after acquiring an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $688.79.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.