Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 16,467 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 197,088 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 16,467 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of Northrop Grumman worth $120,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Flavin Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Northrop Grumman by 27.0% during the third quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,439 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.2% in the third quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 6,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,244,000 after buying an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.8% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,362 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,049,000 after buying an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 82,457 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $50,243,000 after buying an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 277.7% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 17,583 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,714,000 after buying an additional 12,928 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Vertical Research reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $688.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Argus set a $785.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NOC opened at $747.10 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.03. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $450.13 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $678.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $615.73.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total transaction of $14,176,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the 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 directly owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. Corporate 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.