Investment Partners LTD. Boosts Stock Holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Investment Partners LTD. raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,109 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the quarter. Investment Partners LTD.’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $1,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,827,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,816,898,000 after buying an additional 83,997 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 6.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,981,088,000 after acquiring an additional 209,591 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 8.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,074,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,797,437,000 after acquiring an additional 240,306 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,743,757 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $847,361,000 after purchasing an additional 15,085 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 53,784.3% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,235,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $600,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,275 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LMT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Lockheed Martin from $555.00 to $525.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.67.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LMT opened at $450.19 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $105.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $465.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $524.83. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 52 week low of $419.70 and a 52 week high of $618.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. Equities research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lockheed Martin news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,265.58. This represents a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

About Lockheed Martin

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.