Vanguard Group Inc. Has $8.25 Billion Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,531,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 109,941 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Northrop Grumman worth $8,245,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter valued at $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth about $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,466,472,000 after buying an additional 308,680 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $640,534,000 after acquiring an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 49,898.2% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 169,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $84,744,000 after acquiring an additional 169,155 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on NOC. Vertical Research reissued a “hold” rating and set a $688.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus set a $785.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $765.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $702.20 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $99.66 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 5.22 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 12-month low of $426.24 and a 12-month high of $715.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $629.70 and a 200-day moving average of $600.16.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. The business 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 directly owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 30,192 shares of company stock valued at $20,341,145 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.