Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Boosts Stock Position in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 1.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,199 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $4,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stokes Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the 1st quarter valued at $425,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 1st quarter worth about $217,000. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 6.5% in the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 1,439 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 7.1% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 832 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 22.4% during the first quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC now owns 5,629 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $503.00 to $599.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $483.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Melius raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $480.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $597.92.

Insider Activity at Lockheed Martin

In other news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.36, for a total transaction of $2,048,556.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,574,850.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lockheed Martin Stock Up 0.3 %

Lockheed Martin stock traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $613.68. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 458,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,044,277. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $578.29 and its 200 day moving average is $511.11. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 52-week low of $413.92 and a 52-week high of $618.95. The company has a market cap of $147.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.66. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 95.03% and a net margin of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $18.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.73 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.30 dividend. This is an increase from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is presently 48.30%.

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.