West Tower Group LLC Takes Position in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 900 shares of the aerospace company’s stock, valued at approximately $437,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LMT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth $47,000. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 0.4 %

LMT opened at $469.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $461.50 and its 200-day moving average is $516.79. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 52-week low of $419.70 and a 52-week high of $618.95. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. Analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,840. This represents a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $555.00 to $525.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.20.

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.