Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. lowered its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 31.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,971 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $4,411,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 39.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,434,041 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,958,151,000 after acquiring an additional 970,029 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 56,920.9% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 421,955 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $240,603,000 after acquiring an additional 421,215 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 272.8% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 401,664 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $229,033,000 after acquiring an additional 293,909 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,835,097,000 after acquiring an additional 209,135 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,086.5% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 192,583 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $109,813,000 after purchasing an additional 176,352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $523.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $538.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $623.81. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $493.84 and a 1 year high of $774.00. The stock has a market cap of $74.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.53 and a beta of -0.10.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.06 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.06 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st were paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from Northrop Grumman’s previous quarterly dividend of $2.31. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.92%.

More Northrop Grumman News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Defense stocks are benefiting from a broader sector rally as investors respond to expectations for stronger U.S. military spending, including a proposed $1.5 trillion defense budget backdrop. Northrop Grumman rises as defense-spending tailwinds and program momentum lift sentiment
• Positive Sentiment: Investor attention is building ahead of Northrop Grumman’s July 21 Q2 results, with a strong backlog and government contract momentum expected to support the quarter. Northrop Grumman to Post Q2 Earnings: Here’s What to Expect
• Positive Sentiment: Recent program news, including work tied to Sentinel infrastructure, is reinforcing the long-term growth story for strategic deterrence and aerospace missions. Northrop Grumman Planning To Add Hundreds Of Jobs For Sentinel
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary remains mixed-to-positive, with recent coverage focused on key earnings metrics and margin sensitivity, especially around the Sentinel program.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider trading data shows no open-market insider buying in the last six months, while several executives have sold shares, which may temper some enthusiasm.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Monday, June 15th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $815.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $676.29.

About Northrop Grumman

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.