Rafferty Asset Management LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,094 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 9,622 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $15,596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of LMT. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,906 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,898,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. BluePath Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 4,267 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the period. USA Financial Formulas raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 18.8% in the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 473 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. RMR Wealth Builders raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 3,124 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,518,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Finally, Smith Thornton Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Smith Thornton Advisors LLC now owns 814 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

LMT opened at $464.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $461.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $480.58. The firm has a market cap of $108.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. Lockheed Martin Co. has a twelve month low of $418.88 and a twelve month high of $618.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.34 by $0.94. The company had revenue of $17.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.83 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. Equities research analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $510.00 to $500.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Melius downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $481.00 to $499.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $541.80.

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.