Martingale Asset Management L P Decreases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Martingale Asset Management L P decreased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 7.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 44,856 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,524 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $27,332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,531,586 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $8,245,066,000 after buying an additional 109,941 shares during the period. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth $6,457,274,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,115,519 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,554,299,000 after acquiring an additional 14,980 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 2.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,996,284 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,825,696,000 after acquiring an additional 63,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total transaction of $107,748.06. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,850,774.50. The trade was a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $735.20 on Friday. 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 50-day simple moving average of $688.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $618.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $104.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 5.45 and a beta of 0.03. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $450.13 and a 52-week high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The firm had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.39 earnings per share. The business’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. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 presently 31.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on NOC. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price target for the company. Argus set a $785.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and issued a $752.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

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.