Creative Planning Increases Stock Holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 3.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 106,301 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Creative Planning’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $62,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CVA Family Office LLC increased its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 1.1% in the third quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $905,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 565 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. tru Independence LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. tru Independence LLC now owns 827 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 50.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 1.3% during the second quarter. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC now owns 1,527 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on LMT shares. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $483.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Melius raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $511.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $597.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.36, for a total value of $2,048,556.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,877 shares in the company, valued at $4,574,850.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:LMT opened at $611.81 on Friday. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 12-month low of $413.92 and a 12-month high of $614.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $578.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $510.67. The firm has a market cap of $146.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.47.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $18.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 95.03%. Lockheed Martin’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.73 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.68 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is currently 48.30%.

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.