Homestead Advisers Corp Sells 3,500 Shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Homestead Advisers Corp cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 1.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 181,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the period. Northrop Grumman comprises 2.6% of Homestead Advisers Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Homestead Advisers Corp’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $110,635,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,956 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,192,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. HORAN Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 4.2% during the third quarter. HORAN Wealth LLC now owns 6,857 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,178,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $204,000. Howe & Rusling Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Howe & Rusling Inc. now owns 1,075 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $655,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optimize Financial Inc acquired a new position in Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth $336,000. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Alembic Global Advisors raised Northrop Grumman from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $662.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, December 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $765.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $688.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 191,602 shares in the company, valued at $117,835,230. The trade was a 1.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the sale, the director owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. This trade represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,192 shares of company stock worth $6,164,745. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $691.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $98.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.10. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $426.24 and a 52-week high of $709.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $607.16 and its 200-day moving average is $592.53.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.72%.

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.