Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by Bahl & Gaynor Inc.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. cut its holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 97,131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 3,534 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $59,184,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Aprio Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 667 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 8.6% in the third quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 3,471 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,115,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Landing Point Financial Group LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 7.1% in the third quarter. Landing Point Financial Group LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,093,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,122.2% in the third quarter. Accredited Wealth Management LLC now owns 550 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,310.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 1,537 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 1,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total transaction of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,203 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,877,037.56. This trade represents a 2.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total value of $107,748.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,774.50. The trade was a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and issued a $623.00 target price (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus set a $785.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $781.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:NOC opened at $725.81 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $103.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.03. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $450.13 and a fifty-two week high of $745.55. 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’s 50-day moving average is $657.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $608.68.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.39 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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 research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $2.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.72%.

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.