Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) CEO Kathy Warden Sells 3,000 Shares of Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) CEO Kathy Warden sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares in the company, valued at $117,835,230. This trade represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of NOC stock opened at $575.95 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $569.13 and a 200 day moving average of $570.54. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $426.24 and a 1 year high of $640.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 0.05.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.49% and a net margin of 9.82%.The business had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.24%.

More Northrop Grumman News

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

• Positive Sentiment: President Trump proposed a dramatic increase in 2027 defense spending, a tailwind for major contractors including Northrop if enacted; markets reacted to the budget upside for the sector. Trump proposes massive increase in 2027 defense spending to $1.5T
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop won a ~ $94.3 million Navy contract for rocket motors (SSRM), supporting near-term revenue and backlog in its propulsion/ordnance business. Northrop Grumman wins $94.3 million Navy contract for rocket motors
• Positive Sentiment: Technical/market commentary shows improving relative-strength metrics and positive momentum narratives, which can support investor interest ahead of Q4 results. Northrop Grumman Rising Toward New High With Fourth Quarter Earnings Up Next
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research issued multiple small, mixed EPS revisions across quarters and fiscal years — modest downgrades for some quarters and slight raises for others — leaving FY2027 outlook broadly steady but adding near-term estimate noise. MarketBeat NOC coverage (Zacks estimates)
• Negative Sentiment: President Trump signed an order and repeatedly said he will not permit dividends or buybacks for defense companies until they fix production issues — a direct threat to a major shareholder-return lever for Northrop and peers. That policy risk is a key driver of selling pressure. Trump signs order to block defense companies from buying back stock until arms production improves
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Kathy Warden disclosed recent sales of NOC shares (totaling several thousand shares across Jan. 5–6), which can be interpreted negatively by some investors given the timing amid policy headlines. SEC Form 4 — Kathy J. Warden
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage noted immediate selling pressure on defense names after Trump’s warnings on buybacks/dividends, amplifying downside for Northrop in the intraday session. Northrop Grumman Stock Drops After Trump Warns Against Buybacks Over Investment

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NOC has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $696.00 price target on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Truist Financial upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $625.00 to $688.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $650.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $651.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NOC. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in Northrop Grumman by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,036 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,067,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,459 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $5,355,000 after acquiring an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman during the first quarter worth $966,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% 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.