HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Sells 824 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 9.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,370 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 824 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $5,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. HORAN Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.2% during the third quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 6,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth $204,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $336,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 10,162 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,192,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. This trade represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 3,000 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares in the company, valued at $117,835,230. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,192 shares of company stock worth $6,164,745. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating and issued a $752.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $688.79.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $691.03 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $426.24 and a 1-year high of $709.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.07 billion, a PE ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.04. The business’s 50 day moving average is $607.16 and its 200-day moving average is $592.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.72%.

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.