Avity Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Avity Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 21.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after buying an additional 95 shares during the quarter. Avity Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 65 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1,925.0% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, TFC Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 206.9% in the fourth quarter. TFC Financial Management Inc. now owns 89 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on LMT shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $475.00 to $518.00 in a report on Monday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $482.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $380.00 to $377.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $485.40.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Lockheed Martin stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $467.10. 3,472,549 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 988,980. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.47. The business has a 50 day moving average of $464.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $450.35. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 12 month low of $393.77 and a 12 month high of $479.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $6.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.80 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $17.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.04 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 85.96%. Lockheed Martin’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.43 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

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 paid a $3.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $12.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 46.10%.

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.