BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 41,079 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,049 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp's holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $19,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LMT. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LMT. Susquehanna decreased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a "positive" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Lockheed Martin from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $540.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Lockheed Martin from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lockheed Martin from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $575.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Melius Research lowered Lockheed Martin from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $541.80.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of LMT traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $469.27. The company had a trading volume of 865,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,293,336. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 1-year low of $418.88 and a 1-year high of $618.95. The stock has a market cap of $109.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $461.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $477.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.34 by $0.94. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. The business had revenue of $17.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.83 billion. Research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. Lockheed Martin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.02%.

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.