Entropy Technologies LP Acquires New Shares in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 9,445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,755,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,531,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,245,066,000 after buying an additional 109,941 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,457,274,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,115,519 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,554,299,000 after acquiring an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,996,284 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,825,696,000 after acquiring an additional 63,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 26.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $640,534,000 after acquiring an additional 221,431 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus set a $785.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $735.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.03. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $450.13 and a one year high of $774.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $688.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $618.37.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (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 prior year, the company earned $6.39 EPS. The company’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. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Northrop Grumman

In other news, 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 owned 4,203 shares in the company, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total transaction of $107,748.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,774.50. This trade represents a 5.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.