Cornerstone Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 45.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,500 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Coign Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.3% during the second quarter. Coign Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,294 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 1,127 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. West Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. West Wealth Group LLC now owns 412 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 1,243 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA raised its position in Northrop Grumman by 6.9% in the third quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 278 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Northrop Grumman from $575.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Argus set a $785.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $765.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $765.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $693.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total transaction of $14,176,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 97 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $564.08, for a total value of $54,715.76. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,281 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,826.48. This trade represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 30,192 shares of company stock worth $20,341,145 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock opened at $724.47 on Thursday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a one year low of $426.24 and a one year high of $725.55. The company has a market cap of $102.82 billion, a PE ratio of 24.87, a P/E/G ratio of 5.21 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $636.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $601.81.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.39 earnings per share. The firm’s 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. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

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

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.