Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. Acquires 893 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Harold Davidson & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 58.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,417 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 893 shares during the quarter. Harold Davidson & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,473,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter valued at about $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 308,680 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in 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 worth $640,534,000 after purchasing an additional 221,431 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 169,155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $121,634,929.64. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 30,192 shares of company stock worth $20,341,145 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Vertical Research restated a “hold” rating and issued a $688.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, January 12th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 3.3%

NYSE:NOC opened at $724.47 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $636.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $601.81. The stock has a market cap of $102.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.04. 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 $426.24 and a 12 month high of $725.55.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced 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. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly 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. Equities analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

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.