Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Acquires 421 Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,210 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 421 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $2,046,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lockheed Martin in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the fourth quarter worth $47,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LMT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $468.00 to $476.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $555.00 to $525.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.20.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LMT opened at $474.31 on Friday. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 52 week low of $419.70 and a 52 week high of $618.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $462.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $521.59. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. On average, analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.78%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 59.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the firm’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 owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,265.58. This trade represents a 23.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 in the last three months. Corporate 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.