Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) CEO Sells $1,845,000.00 in Stock

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) CEO Kathy 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 191,602 shares in the company, valued at $117,835,230. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 4.8%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $619.31 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $570.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $571.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.11. The company has a market capitalization of $88.39 billion, a PE ratio of 22.28, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 0.05. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52 week low of $426.24 and a 52 week high of $640.90.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.43 by $1.24. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.82% and a return on equity of 25.49%. The company had revenue of $10.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.00 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly 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. Analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is 33.24%.

More Northrop Grumman News

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Northrop Grumman

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First United Bank & Trust increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 641.0% during the second quarter. First United Bank & Trust now owns 778 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $389,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 29.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 1,848 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at $491,985,000. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,739,000 after purchasing an additional 4,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,015,000. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NOC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, December 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman to $770.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Northrop Grumman to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $630.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $654.00 price target on the stock. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $647.35.

Northrop Grumman Company 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.