Compass Financial Management LLC Buys New Shares in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Compass Financial Management initiated a Northrop Grumman position by purchasing 2,385 shares valued at approximately $1.315 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of NOC.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive but mixed, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $661.30. Recent target reductions included JPMorgan’s cut to $600 and Jefferies’ to $580.
• Northrop Grumman beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $7.68 in EPS and $10.88 billion in revenue, while maintaining 2026 EPS guidance of $28.60–$29.10. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $2.47 per share, yielding about 1.9% annually.

Compass Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,385 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,315,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 176.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,970 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $1,394,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 641 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 367.7% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 2,516 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $1,288,000 after acquiring an additional 1,978 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1,487.8% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 16,338 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $8,169,000 after purchasing an additional 15,309 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,865 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $4,432,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Morgan Stanley set a $745.00 target price on Northrop Grumman in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $635.00 to $600.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $620.00 to $580.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Robert W. Baird set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Northrop Grumman from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Northrop Grumman has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $661.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Northrop Grumman news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.53, for a total transaction of $52,015.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,405,299.29. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NOC opened at $513.89 on Friday. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $479.02 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $544.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $599.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $72.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of -0.11.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The aerospace company reported $7.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.86. Northrop Grumman had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 10.48%.The company had revenue of $10.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $8.15 EPS. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.600-29.100 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is 31.39%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NOC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source