Lockheed Martin Corporation $LMT Shares Acquired by Welch Group LLC

Key Points

• Welch Group LLC increased its Lockheed Martin stake by 2% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 132,853 shares valued at approximately $67.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 74.19% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Lockheed Martin receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $638.05. Shares opened at $637.60, within a 52-week range of $437.25 to $692.00.
• Lockheed Martin exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $7.97 in EPS and $20.71 billion in revenue, while revenue rose 11.3% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $3.60, equal to a 2.3% annualized yield.

Welch Group LLC increased its stake in Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,853 shares of the aerospace company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,612 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin accounts for 2.3% of Welch Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Welch Group LLC owned about 0.06% of Lockheed Martin worth $67,655,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LMT. State Street Corp increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,975,170 shares of the aerospace company's stock worth $16,799,530,000 after buying an additional 419,582 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $9,617,574,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the second quarter worth $101,960,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the second quarter worth $645,258,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin during the second quarter valued at $497,469,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on LMT shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lockheed Martin from $620.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, October 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $550.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $653.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Lockheed Martin from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Vertical Research raised Lockheed Martin from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $600.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $638.05.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of LMT stock opened at $637.60 on Monday. Lockheed Martin Corporation has a 52-week low of $437.25 and a 52-week high of $692.00. The company's 50 day moving average is $544.17 and its 200 day moving average is $568.87. The firm has a market cap of $147.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.52 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $20.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.48 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 83.41%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.95 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 30.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a $3.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $14.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Lockheed Martin's previous quarterly dividend of $3.45. Lockheed Martin's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.15%.

Lockheed Martin Profile

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Formed in 1995 through the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company develops and produces advanced defense, aerospace, and technology systems for government and commercial customers.

Its principal business areas include Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space. Products and services include military aircraft such as the F-35 Lightning II, C-130 Hercules, and F-16 Fighting Falcon; missile-defense and precision-strike systems; helicopters and naval systems; command, control, communications, and intelligence technologies; satellites; space exploration systems; and other classified space and defense programs.

Lockheed Martin serves the U.S.

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