Vantage Investment Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Vantage Investment Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,247 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 927 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin accounts for about 1.3% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $15,928,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CVA Family Office LLC lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.1% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 468 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $331,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quad Cities Investment Group LLC lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.2% during the third quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on LMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $483.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $503.00 to $599.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $589.00 to $603.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $611.00.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 1.1 %

Lockheed Martin stock opened at $570.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $578.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $522.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $135.25 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.49. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 12-month low of $413.92 and a 12-month high of $618.95.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.38 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.77 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.62%.

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.