Compass Financial Management LLC Takes $1.31 Million Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,315,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NOC. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,835,097,000 after acquiring an additional 209,135 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $6,001,616,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,958,151,000 after purchasing an additional 970,029 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,149,478 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,793,478,000 after purchasing an additional 17,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,125,139 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,781,986,000 after purchasing an additional 128,855 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

NOC opened at $552.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $78.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $479.02 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $541.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $610.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.86. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.48% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm had revenue of $10.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $8.15 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Monday, August 31st will be issued a $2.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $635.00 to $600.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 price objective on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $603.00 to $533.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $661.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, valued at $2,405,299.29. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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.

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.