Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,154 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,840,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 4.0% during the third quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 468 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 3.3% in the third quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Finally, Quad Cities Investment Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

LMT stock opened at $512.85 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $561.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $531.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 12-month low of $413.92 and a 12-month high of $618.95. The firm has a market cap of $121.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.47.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $0.34. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 101.44%. The company had revenue of $17.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.38 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.77 earnings per share. Lockheed Martin’s revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.94 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LMT. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $635.00 price target on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Friday, August 30th. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Lockheed Martin from $705.00 to $695.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $611.00.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

Lockheed Martin Corporation, a security and aerospace company, engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services worldwide. The company operates through Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space segments.