Geneos Wealth Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Geneos Wealth Management Inc. trimmed its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 61.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 943 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,511 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $575,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth approximately $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,466,472,000 after purchasing an additional 308,680 shares during the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 49,898.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 169,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,744,000 after purchasing an additional 169,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,421,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,710,554,000 after buying an additional 155,344 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total transaction of $54,715.76. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,826.48. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $615.00, for a total transaction of $1,845,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 191,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,835,230. This represents a 1.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 10,097 shares of company stock worth $6,099,716 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE:NOC opened at $619.31 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $640.90. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $570.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $571.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $88.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.05.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $10.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.00 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.650-26.050 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.5%. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio is currently 33.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $696.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $700.00 target price on Northrop Grumman and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price target for the company. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $654.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.35.

Northrop Grumman News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Trump floated a dramatic $1.5 trillion 2027 defense budget, which lifted defense stocks and boosted investor expectations for higher government spending that would benefit large contractors like Northrop. Trump proposes massive increase in 2027 defense spending to $1.5T
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop won a Navy contract (~$94.3M) for solid rocket motors (SSRM), adding near-term revenue and strengthening backlog in propulsion/ordnance. Northrop Grumman wins $94.3 million Navy contract for rocket motors
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop was competitively awarded the Marine Corps CCA work (with Kratos’ Valkyrie UAS) to rapidly develop collaborative combat aircraft — a program win that supports future unmanned/autonomy revenue. Northrop Grumman to Rapidly Develop Marine Corps CCA with Kratos’ Valkyrie UAS
• Positive Sentiment: Northrop launched a digitally enhanced ICBM target vehicle, highlighting product development and tech leadership that can support future DoD awards. Northrop Grumman launches digitally enhanced ICBM target vehicle
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and research services note Northrop’s strong earnings-surprise history and Zacks/other research highlighting the company as a potential beat ahead of quarterly results, supporting bullish expectations. Will Northrop Grumman (NOC) Beat Estimates Again in Its Next Earnings Report?
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical indicators (golden cross / rising relative strength) are signaling short-term momentum, which can attract technical buyers ahead of earnings. Northrop Grumman (NOC) Just Flashed Golden Cross Signal
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks issued small EPS revisions (mixed downgrades/raises) that mostly keep FY2027 outlook stable but add estimate noise near the next report. MarketBeat NOC coverage (Zacks estimates)
• Negative Sentiment: President Trump signed/ordered curbs on buybacks/dividends and signaled caps on executive pay for underperforming contractors — a material policy risk that could limit shareholder returns and triggered selling pressure across the sector. Trump signs order to block defense companies from buying back stock until arms production improves
• Negative Sentiment: Northrop’s CEO disclosed recent sales of several thousand shares (Jan. 5–6), which some investors view negatively amid heightened policy scrutiny. SEC Form 4 — Kathy J. Warden
• Negative Sentiment: After Trump’s comments and orders, intraday headlines showed immediate selling pressure on defense names, which weighed on Northrop despite positive contract/news flow. Northrop Grumman Stock Drops After Trump Warns Against Buybacks Over Investment

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.