Erste Asset Management GmbH Increases Stock Position in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Erste Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) by 729.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 1,759 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $1,191,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,457,274,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Northrop Grumman during the second quarter worth approximately $491,985,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.8% in the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,933,061 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,466,472,000 after purchasing an additional 308,680 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 26.7% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,051,226 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $640,534,000 after buying an additional 221,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 49,898.2% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 169,494 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $84,744,000 after buying an additional 169,155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.40% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NOC shares. Vertical Research reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $688.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $765.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, December 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $680.00 to $815.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $693.60.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NOC opened at $725.81 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.92, a PEG ratio of 5.38 and a beta of 0.03. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $450.13 and a twelve month high of $745.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $657.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $608.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.97 by $0.26. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The company had revenue of $11.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given 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 yield of 1.3%. Northrop Grumman’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark A. Welsh III sold 95 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $684.52, for a total value of $65,029.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,203 shares in the company, valued at $2,877,037.56. This represents a 2.21% decrease in their position. The sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,850,774.50. This trade represents a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,431 shares of company stock worth $21,969,404. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.