Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 1,313 Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,779 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 1,313 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $8,639,000 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. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the second quarter worth about $27,000. Sachetta LLC increased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 50.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. Wiser Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 65.8% during the first quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 48.9% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 67 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter valued at $32,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of LMT stock opened at $534.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $126.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.49. Lockheed Martin Co. has a one year low of $413.92 and a one year high of $618.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $576.52 and its 200 day moving average is $524.37.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 101.44%. The firm had revenue of $17.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 45.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LMT shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped 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 raised their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $589.00 to $603.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $483.00 to $525.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $611.00.

Lockheed Martin 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.