Advisor Resource Council Decreases Stock Holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Advisor Resource Council reduced its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 61.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 445 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 720 shares during the quarter. Advisor Resource Council’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at about $1,353,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 2.3% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 87,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $35,675,000 after buying an additional 1,999 shares during the last quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 7.7% in the third quarter. Cito Capital Group LLC now owns 1,400 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 97.5% in the third quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 553 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alethea Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at about $415,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Lockheed Martin stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $466.03. 313,283 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,041,486. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.82 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 0.46. Lockheed Martin Co. has a fifty-two week low of $393.77 and a fifty-two week high of $479.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $465.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $450.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $6.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.53. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 85.96% and a net margin of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $17.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.43 earnings per share. Lockheed Martin’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a $3.15 dividend. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 46.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LMT has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $380.00 to $377.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $475.00 to $518.00 in a report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $482.00 to $499.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $467.00 to $487.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.40.

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.