Natixis Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 2.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 82,457 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $50,243,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 200.0% in the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 48 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Northrop Grumman

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

NOC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $727.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, January 12th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. Argus set a $785.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $765.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman 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 assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:NOC opened at $747.10 on Tuesday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 52-week low of $450.13 and a 52-week high of $774.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $106.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.65, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 0.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $678.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $615.73. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.97 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 25.57% and a net margin of 9.97%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.39 earnings per share. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman’s payout ratio 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.