Wedbush Securities Inc. Raises Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,691 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,485 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $3,467,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOC. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 200.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 75.0% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,281 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,414,826.48. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,192 shares of company stock valued at $20,341,145. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories 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

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $679.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $620.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $597.31. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $426.24 and a fifty-two week high of $715.61. The firm has a market cap of $96.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.09 and a beta of 0.04.

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. 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%.Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is presently 31.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $727.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Monday, January 12th. Vertical Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $688.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Argus set a $785.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 price objective (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

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.