Ballast Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Ballast Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 9.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 914 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Ballast Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $534,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,942,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $902,714,000 after buying an additional 31,545 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $911,433,000 after purchasing an additional 1,556,609 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 14.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,384,774 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $646,828,000 after purchasing an additional 180,074 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,169,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $546,144,000 after purchasing an additional 119,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 56,626.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,021,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $476,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,281 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 0.2 %

LMT traded down $1.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $545.63. 249,372 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,048,550. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 1 year low of $413.92 and a 1 year high of $618.95. The firm has a market cap of $129.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $578.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $520.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $17.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.77 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.89 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LMT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $705.00 to $695.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $519.00 to $626.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $589.00 to $603.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $611.00.

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.