Assetmark Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 15.8% in Q4, buying 4,020 shares to hold 29,519 shares valued at about $16.83 million.
• Northrop Grumman beat estimates with $7.23 EPS (vs. $6.97) and $11.71B revenue, and set FY2026 guidance of 27.40–27.90 EPS, with analysts forecasting roughly 28.05 EPS.
• Wall Street sentiment is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $719.58; Bank of America raised its target to $750 and Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to "strong-buy".

Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,519 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,020 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $16,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 0.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,531,586 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,245,066,000 after purchasing an additional 109,941 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 2.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,996,284 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,825,696,000 after purchasing an additional 63,223 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,624,658 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $990,046,000 after purchasing an additional 4,844 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 221,431 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 746,585 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $454,909,000 after purchasing an additional 29,478 shares in the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NOC shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $685.00 to $750.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Truist Financial restated a "hold" rating and set a $623.00 target price (down from $688.00) on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and set a $752.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Vertical Research reissued a "hold" rating and set a $688.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $719.58.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $673.41 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $709.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $637.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $95.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 4.80 and a beta of 0.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1 year low of $450.13 and a 1 year high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $11.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.61 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 9.97% and a return on equity of 25.57%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $2.31 per share. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is currently 31.72%.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $719.61, for a total value of $1,575,226.29. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 151 shares in the company, valued at $108,661.11. The trade was a 93.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.82, for a total value of $14,176,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 171,602 shares in the company, valued at approximately $121,634,929.64. This represents a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 22,431 shares of company stock worth $15,924,404. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.

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