Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,184 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 102 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin comprises 1.9% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $2,032,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LMT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,630,492,000 after buying an additional 1,132,461 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,827,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,816,898,000 after purchasing an additional 83,997 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,981,088,000 after purchasing an additional 209,591 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 8.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,074,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,797,437,000 after purchasing an additional 240,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,743,757 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $847,361,000 after purchasing an additional 15,085 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LMT shares. Bank of America cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $685.00 to $485.00 in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Melius downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $544.20.

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 stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value of $312,925.27. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,840. The trade was 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 over the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of LMT opened at $442.63 on Wednesday. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 1-year low of $419.70 and a 1-year high of $618.95. The company has a market capitalization of $104.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $459.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $512.63.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 59.30%.

Lockheed Martin Company 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.