Empirical Finance LLC Increases Stock Position in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,420 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $3,830,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. First Pacific Financial purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 65 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 1,925.0% during the fourth quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Shares of LMT stock traded up $3.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $463.73. The stock had a trading volume of 576,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,064,836. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $111.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.85, a PEG ratio of 4.34 and a beta of 0.46. Lockheed Martin Co. has a one year low of $393.77 and a one year high of $479.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $464.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $451.36.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $6.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $17.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.04 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 85.96% and a net margin of 9.73%. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.43 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.19 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $3.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $12.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 46.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LMT shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $467.00 to $487.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on Lockheed Martin from $482.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $380.00 to $377.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $508.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $475.00 to $518.00 in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $485.40.

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.