River Street Advisors LLC Purchases 1,164 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

River Street Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 30.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,009 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the quarter. River Street Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 839 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Drucker Wealth 3.0 LLC now owns 618 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Glenview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.1% in the first quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 1,796 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% during the first quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 1,673 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 5.4% during the first quarter. Quadrant Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 392 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $268,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain supportive. Robert W. Baird upgraded NOC from “hold” to “outperform” and raised its price target to $675 from $550, implying substantial upside. BNP Paribas Exane also expects the stock to appreciate, while Guggenheim initiated or reiterated a “buy” rating. Baird upgrade BNP Paribas Exane outlook Guggenheim buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and margins are key bullish themes. A review of third-quarter results highlighted a $109.6 billion backlog and signs of a potential margin inflection, supporting longer-term revenue visibility and earnings growth. Northrop Grumman Q3 backlog analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent results exceeded expectations. NOC reported quarterly EPS of $7.89 versus the $7.18 consensus estimate, with revenue up 6.7% year over year. Fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $29.35–$29.75 is also above consensus, reinforcing the earnings-growth case.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion is mixed. RBC Capital assigned a “hold” rating even as a separate RBC forecast pointed to strong potential appreciation. This divergence may encourage investors to take profits following the recent rally. RBC hold rating
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure remains a risk. Commentary on NOC and other defense contractors noted that strong backlogs and guidance improvements are accompanied by margin pressures and paused buybacks, which could weigh on near-term valuation.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,405,299.29. This represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NYSE:NOC traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $551.38. 818,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,112,484. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $521.15 and its 200-day moving average is $547.94. The firm has a market cap of $78.33 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $470.06 and a twelve month high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.18 by $0.71. The business had revenue of $11.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 23.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.67 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st were paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is 31.17%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $556.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $635.00 to $600.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $694.00 to $698.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $641.83.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.