Rhumbline Advisers Buys 7,803 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 260,004 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 7,803 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $158,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Krilogy Financial LLC bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $614,000. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 25.5% in the third quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 8,308 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,689 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the third quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 3,273 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,994,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Midwest Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the third quarter. Midwest Trust Co now owns 73,832 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,987,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $215,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NOC. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $752.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $765.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $693.60.

Key Headlines Impacting Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: Northrop Grumman and Polish partner plan a large ammunition plant to produce ~180,000 155mm artillery shells per year — a near-term manufacturing win that supports revenue, backlog and European defense industrialization efforts. This deal strengthens NOC’s exposure to NATO rearmament demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a quarterly dividend of $2.31 per share (payable March 11; record Feb 23), signaling continued cash return and disciplined capital allocation — supportive for income-focused shareholders. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Management will present at Citi’s Global Industrial Tech & Mobility Conference (Feb 18). CEO Kathy Warden’s appearance — webcast to investors — provides an opportunity to reiterate strategy and guidance, but typically drives only short-term attention unless new guidance or contract detail is disclosed. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Kathy Warden sold 20,000 shares (filed as sale on Feb 6 at ~$708.82). Large insider sales can raise investor concern about timing or valuation even if pre-set, and may weigh on sentiment. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and growth questions: recent commentary (The Motley Fool) flags that NOC’s strong earnings beat is offset by guidance that implies low-to-mid single-digit sales growth and a high multiple on free cash flow — a potential headwind for investors focused on valuation and long-term growth. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory/headline risk: coverage notes potential penalties tied to Ukraine-related issues even as the company secures contracts in Japan — geopolitical or compliance developments could introduce downside volatility. Article Title

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total value of $14,176,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,634,929.64. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 30,192 shares of company stock valued at $20,341,145 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $679.37 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $620.83 and its 200 day moving average is $597.31. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12 month low of $426.24 and a 12 month high of $715.61. The company has a market capitalization of $96.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.04. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. The business 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 revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.