River Road Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $3,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Herold Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Herold Advisors Inc. now owns 3,448 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,410,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 21,088 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $8,624,000 after acquiring an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Alethea Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the 3rd quarter valued at $415,000. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 149.0% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,960 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,892,000 after purchasing an additional 7,156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 11,697 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,784,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LMT opened at $456.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.21. Lockheed Martin Co. has a one year low of $393.77 and a one year high of $503.33. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $439.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $442.21. The stock has a market cap of $109.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.16 and a beta of 0.48.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.26 by $0.64. The company had revenue of $18.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.96 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 79.91%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.79 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $3.15 dividend. This represents a $12.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 45.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Maryanne Lavan sold 4,022 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.39, for a total transaction of $1,747,116.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Maryanne Lavan sold 4,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.39, for a total value of $1,747,116.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gregory M. Ulmer sold 6,204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.19, for a total transaction of $2,675,102.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,718.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 16,874 shares of company stock valued at $7,249,946 in the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $475.00 to $518.00 in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Lockheed Martin from $475.00 to $470.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $513.00 to $503.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $438.00 to $472.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $540.00 and set a “positive” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $493.36.

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.