J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,162 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $6,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NOC. Coign Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the second quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the period. Howard Financial Services LTD. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. West Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the third quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 1,375 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $838,000 after buying an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NOC opened at $691.03 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $607.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $592.53. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $709.39. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $98.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.72, a PEG ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.04.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released 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. The business had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total value of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares in the company, valued at $117,835,230. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of Northrop Grumman 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 transaction, the director owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. The trade was a 2.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 10,192 shares of company stock valued at $6,164,745 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $765.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $765.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.79.

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.