Chatterton & Associates Inc. Invests $1.20 Million in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Chatterton & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,098 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,196,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NOC. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 1,895 shares in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 367.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,288,000 after buying an additional 1,978 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 26.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,624 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,312,000 after buying an additional 2,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,297 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,148,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $703.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $709.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $631.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.16, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.04. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $450.13 and a 52-week high of $774.00. 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 (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly 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. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The firm had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.39 EPS. 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 expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $2.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $9.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NOC shares. Argus set a $785.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial reissued a “hold” rating and set a $623.00 price objective (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $800.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $708.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total transaction of $1,575,226.29. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 151 shares in the company, valued at $108,661.11. This trade represents a 93.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total transaction of $14,176,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.