Wealthfront Advisers LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Northrop Grumman Corporation $NOC

Key Points

• Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Northrop Grumman by 20.9% in Q4, buying an additional 3,750 shares to hold 21,692 shares worth about $12.37 million.
• Institutional ownership stands at 83.40%, with large investors adding to positions—Vanguard now owns 13,740,721 shares (≈$7.84B) and BNY Mellon increased its stake to 1,051,226 shares.
• Wall Street sentiment is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $710.74; Northrop recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, set FY‑2026 guidance of 27.40–27.90 EPS, and insiders sold about 22,431 shares (~$15.9M) last quarter.

Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,692 shares of the aerospace company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,750 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $12,369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Northrop Grumman during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $137,280,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake 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 worth $640,534,000 after purchasing an additional 221,431 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,740,721 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $7,835,097,000 after purchasing an additional 209,135 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 1,086.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 192,583 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $109,813,000 after buying an additional 176,352 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman by 7,202.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 167,232 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $95,357,000 after purchasing an additional 164,942 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NOC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $765.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Northrop Grumman from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $815.00 target price on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $715.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus set a $785.00 price target on shares of Northrop Grumman in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $710.74.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Michael A. Hardesty sold 147 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $732.98, for a total transaction of $107,748.06. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2,525 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,850,774.50. This represents a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 171,602 shares of the company's stock, valued at $121,634,929.64. The trade was a 10.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 22,431 shares of company stock worth $15,924,404 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 0.4%

Northrop Grumman stock opened at $577.37 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $82.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.04. Northrop Grumman Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $453.01 and a fifty-two week high of $774.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $694.45 and a 200 day moving average price of $637.62.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The aerospace company reported $6.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.06 by $0.08. Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.80% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The firm had revenue of $9.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.06 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. Northrop Grumman has set its FY 2026 guidance at 27.400-27.900 EPS. Research analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Corporation will post 27.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 28.92%.

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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