Sanders Capital LLC Sells 53,911 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Sanders Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,926,438 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 53,911 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman accounts for 1.4% of Sanders Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Sanders Capital LLC owned 1.35% of Northrop Grumman worth $1,173,817,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Focused Investors LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the third quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 211,800 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $129,054,000 after purchasing an additional 8,300 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,721 shares during the last quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,818,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,015,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 81,747 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $49,810,000 after buying an additional 3,215 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NOC. Citigroup upped their price target on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Argus set a $785.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $733.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $691.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $619.39. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $450.13 and a 12 month high of $774.00. The company has a market capitalization of $104.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.19, a P/E/G ratio of 5.47 and a beta of 0.03.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 sale, the director directly owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total transaction of $1,575,226.29. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,661.11. The trade was a 93.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.