Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Has $4 Million Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 24.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,564 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 367.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,978 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 29.2% during the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 93 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 490 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $245,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total transaction of $107,748.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,850,774.50. The trade was a 5.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the company’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 directly owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.3%

NOC stock opened at $725.37 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $645.66 and a 200 day moving average of $604.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $102.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 0.04. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $449.20 and a 52 week high of $745.55.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.39 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 price target (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Vertical Research restated a “hold” rating and set a $688.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

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.