Vident Advisory LLC Raises Position in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Vident Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,450 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 730 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $3,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Visionary Wealth Advisors raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 14,965 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,272,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter worth $25,097,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,006,000 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $488,856,000 after purchasing an additional 161,900 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 483,431 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $234,918,000 after purchasing an additional 73,393 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter worth $1,295,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on LMT. Melius cut shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Lockheed Martin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $480.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $540.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $476.00 to $432.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $541.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction 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 represents a 61.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of LMT opened at $475.20 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $461.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $478.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 1-year low of $418.88 and a 1-year high of $618.95.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.34 by $0.94. The firm had revenue of $17.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.83 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 57.02%.

Lockheed Martin 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.