River Street Advisors LLC Acquires 1,164 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

River Street Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,009 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,164 shares during the period. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 61,436 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $41,914,000 after acquiring an additional 4,041 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,707,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $3,308,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $1,298,141,000. Finally, Sage Capital Advisors llc acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,773,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $533.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $675.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $745.00 to $765.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $641.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total value of $52,015.35. Following the sale, the director owned 4,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,405,299.29. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NOC traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $551.38. 818,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,112,484. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $78.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of -0.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $521.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $547.94. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $470.06 and a 1 year high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.67 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.53 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.17%.

Northrop Grumman News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Northrop Grumman this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain supportive. Robert W. Baird upgraded NOC from “hold” to “outperform” and raised its price target to $675 from $550, implying substantial upside. BNP Paribas Exane also expects the stock to appreciate, while Guggenheim initiated or reiterated a “buy” rating. Baird upgrade BNP Paribas Exane outlook Guggenheim buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and margins are key bullish themes. A review of third-quarter results highlighted a $109.6 billion backlog and signs of a potential margin inflection, supporting longer-term revenue visibility and earnings growth. Northrop Grumman Q3 backlog analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent results exceeded expectations. NOC reported quarterly EPS of $7.89 versus the $7.18 consensus estimate, with revenue up 6.7% year over year. Fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $29.35–$29.75 is also above consensus, reinforcing the earnings-growth case.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion is mixed. RBC Capital assigned a “hold” rating even as a separate RBC forecast pointed to strong potential appreciation. This divergence may encourage investors to take profits following the recent rally. RBC hold rating
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure remains a risk. Commentary on NOC and other defense contractors noted that strong backlogs and guidance improvements are accompanied by margin pressures and paused buybacks, which could weigh on near-term valuation.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.