Royal Fund Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Royal Fund Management acquired a new 3,209-share stake in Northrop Grumman during the third quarter, valued at approximately $1.55 million. Institutional investors collectively own 83.4% of the company.
• Northrop Grumman reported quarterly EPS of $7.89, exceeding the $7.18 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.7% year over year to $11.12 billion. The company also maintains a $109.6 billion backlog, supporting long-term revenue visibility.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $641.83, although some analysts cite margin pressure and maintain “hold” ratings. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $2.47 per share, for a 1.8% yield.

Royal Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 3,209 shares of the aerospace company's stock, valued at approximately $1,551,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its stake in Northrop Grumman by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,169,195 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $6,707,203,000 after purchasing an additional 168,267 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman during the 2nd quarter worth $6,001,616,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman in the second quarter worth about $1,298,141,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Northrop Grumman by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 960,690 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $655,373,000 after purchasing an additional 5,811 shares during the period. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 11.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 587,121 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $400,557,000 after buying an additional 58,690 shares during the period. 83.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Northrop Grumman

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain supportive. Robert W. Baird upgraded NOC from “hold” to “outperform” and raised its price target to $675 from $550, implying substantial upside. BNP Paribas Exane also expects the stock to appreciate, while Guggenheim initiated or reiterated a “buy” rating. Baird upgrade BNP Paribas Exane outlook Guggenheim buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Backlog and margins are key bullish themes. A review of third-quarter results highlighted a $109.6 billion backlog and signs of a potential margin inflection, supporting longer-term revenue visibility and earnings growth. Northrop Grumman Q3 backlog analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Recent results exceeded expectations. NOC reported quarterly EPS of $7.89 versus the $7.18 consensus estimate, with revenue up 6.7% year over year. Fiscal 2026 EPS guidance of $29.35–$29.75 is also above consensus, reinforcing the earnings-growth case.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion is mixed. RBC Capital assigned a “hold” rating even as a separate RBC forecast pointed to strong potential appreciation. This divergence may encourage investors to take profits following the recent rally. RBC hold rating
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure remains a risk. Commentary on NOC and other defense contractors noted that strong backlogs and guidance improvements are accompanied by margin pressures and paused buybacks, which could weigh on near-term valuation.

Northrop Grumman Price Performance

Shares of Northrop Grumman stock traded down $0.97 on Friday, hitting $551.38. 818,788 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,112,484. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $521.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $547.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of -0.11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a 1-year low of $470.06 and a 1-year high of $774.00.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 20th. The aerospace company reported $7.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.18 by $0.71. The firm had revenue of $11.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.14 billion. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.37% and a return on equity of 23.46%. Northrop Grumman's quarterly revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $7.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 29.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st were given a dividend of $2.47 per share. This represents a $9.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 31st. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.17%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Welsh, III sold 95 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on NOC shares. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $540.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Northrop Grumman from $525.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Northrop Grumman and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Susquehanna cut their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $785.00 to $655.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $617.00 to $667.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Northrop Grumman has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $641.83.

Northrop Grumman Profile

Northrop Grumman Corporation NYSE: NOC is a global aerospace and defense company that develops and produces systems for government and commercial customers, with the U.S. government representing its primary customer base. The company operates across aerospace, defense, space, cybersecurity and advanced technology markets.

Its products and services include military aircraft and autonomous systems, space systems and satellites, missile defense technologies, command-and-control systems, cyber solutions, sensors, communications networks and other mission-critical systems.

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.