Wealthfront Advisers LLC Buys 2,425 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 15.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 17,942 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,425 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $10,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.8% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,466,472,000 after buying an additional 308,680 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 26.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $640,534,000 after acquiring an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $84,744,000 after acquiring an additional 169,155 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, February 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $765.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Vertical Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $688.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NOC opened at $685.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $97.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.04. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $426.24 and a twelve month high of $715.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day moving average of $618.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $596.73.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The business had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.39 earnings per share. The business’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. As a group, analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at $121,634,929.64. This trade represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. 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 the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total transaction of $65,029.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,192 shares of company stock valued at $20,341,145. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.