California Public Employees Retirement System Trims Stake in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its position in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 989,248 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 11,309 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.41% of Lockheed Martin worth $448,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LMT. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,385 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,281 shares in the last quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. LexAurum Advisors LLC now owns 493 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,891 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 91,238 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $37,313,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 2,957 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lockheed Martin

In other news, COO John Frank A. St sold 6,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.35, for a total value of $2,827,726.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Gregory M. Ulmer sold 6,204 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $431.19, for a total value of $2,675,102.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,718.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO John Frank A. St sold 6,648 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.35, for a total value of $2,827,726.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,874 shares of company stock worth $7,249,946 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LMT traded down $2.33 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $461.54. 1,820,348 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,168,988. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $440.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $443.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.84, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 0.48. 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 $483.53.

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

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $3.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LMT shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $488.00 to $475.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $475.00 to $518.00 in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $475.00 to $470.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $438.00 to $472.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $508.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $486.78.

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.