First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its stake in Northrop Grumman by 2.9% in Q3, selling 13,627 shares and ending the period with 463,626 shares worth about $282.5 million (roughly 0.32% of the company).
• Insiders sold a total of 32,431 shares in the last quarter (≈$21.97 million), including large sales by VP Benjamin R. Davies and CAO Michael A. Hardesty, leaving insiders with about 0.23% ownership.
• Northrop Grumman beat Q earnings estimates with EPS of $7.23 on $11.71 billion in revenue (up 9.6% y/y), gave FY2026 EPS guidance of 27.40–27.90, and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy."

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 463,626 shares of the aerospace company's stock after selling 13,627 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.32% of Northrop Grumman worth $282,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NOC. Focused Investors LLC grew its position in Northrop Grumman by 4.1% during the third quarter. Focused Investors LLC now owns 211,800 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $129,054,000 after buying an additional 8,300 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Northrop Grumman by 74.5% in the third quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,060 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,739,000 after acquiring an additional 4,721 shares during the period. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the third quarter worth about $2,818,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,015,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter valued at about $491,985,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Northrop Grumman

In related news, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 2,189 shares of Northrop Grumman stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 151 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,661.11. This trade represents a 93.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,850,774.50. The trade was a 5.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,431 shares of company stock valued at $21,969,404. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Performance

NYSE NOC opened at $757.70 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $675.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $614.32. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $107.53 billion, a PE ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 5.50 and a beta of 0.03. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a twelve month low of $450.13 and a twelve month high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The aerospace company reported $7.23 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $11.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.39 EPS. Northrop Grumman's 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 28.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $2.31 dividend. This represents a $9.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman's payout ratio is 31.72%.

Trending Headlines about Northrop Grumman

Here are the key news stories impacting Northrop Grumman this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Won a $225.1M Naval Air Systems Command contract to develop training materials for the E-130J program, providing immediate revenue and strengthening NOC’s role in airborne training systems. Northrop Grumman Secures a $225M Contract to Aid E-130J Program
• Positive Sentiment: Secured additional U.S. Space Force and Navy contract actions that expand its deep‑space radar and E-130J-related work, extending backlog and revenue visibility. Northrop Grumman Contracts Extend Backlog And Deepen Long Term Defense Ties
• Positive Sentiment: Awarded work to supply aircraft protection systems to Germany, reinforcing export and allied sales momentum. Northrop Grumman to supply aircraft protection systems to Germany
• Positive Sentiment: White House meeting where defense CEOs agreed to markedly ramp production of advanced weaponry — a policy/PR tailwind that implies higher future demand across prime contractors including NOC. Trump says defense CEOs agree to quadruple production of `Exquisite Class' weaponry
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains constructive: the stock carries an average “Moderate Buy” consensus, supporting investor confidence in shares. Northrop Grumman Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy"
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail investors and market commentators are rotating back into defense names amid geopolitical volatility, a flow that can amplify moves but is fickle. Retail investor buying holds strong
• Negative Sentiment: Pentagon plans to ban Chinese-origin rare‑earth magnets in military platforms starting 2027, creating a supply-chain re‑qualification and potential cost headwind for manufacturers that use high-performance magnets. This could increase sourcing costs and delays for some NOC systems depending on exposure. U.S. Defense Manufacturers Face A Rare Earth Supply Squeeze
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage highlights the broader industry scramble to build domestic rare‑earth supply chains—good long term, but costly and potentially disruptive in the near term. Why Trump Wants Magnets More Than Gold

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Vertical Research reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $688.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $777.00 to $778.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $727.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Alembic Global Advisors upgraded Northrop Grumman from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $662.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $693.60.

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.

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