Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Shares Sold by Absher Wealth Management LLC

Absher Wealth Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 4.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 644 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 33 shares during the quarter. Absher Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 4,401 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,573,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Pursue Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at about $493,000. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 3.3% in the third quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 628 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $367,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Lockheed Martin by 2.6% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 31,911 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $18,654,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Wealth Strategies Group Inc. now owns 2,998 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $589.00 to $603.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $611.00.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Shares of LMT traded up $1.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $547.22. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 63,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,051,991. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 1-year low of $413.92 and a 1-year high of $618.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $129.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $579.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $517.34.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.30 dividend. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.41%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 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.