Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Purchased by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 746,585 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 29,478 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $454,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 200.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 93.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE:NOC opened at $734.38 on Wednesday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $450.13 and a 52 week high of $774.00. 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 has a market cap of $104.22 billion, a PE ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 0.03. The business’s 50 day moving average is $681.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $616.73.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The firm had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.39 earnings per share. The firm’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. On average, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given 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 is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Citigroup boosted 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. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.