Lockheed Martin Corporation $LMT Stock: Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Grows Position

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) by 6.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,281 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,919 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $24,078,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jmac Enterprises LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Jmac Enterprises LLC now owns 2,672 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,361,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the period. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 2.9% in the third quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,274,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 177 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 363 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $185,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,610 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LMT shares. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $629.00 to $564.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $615.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Sunday, October 25th. UBS Group upped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $653.00 to $692.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $653.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $647.00.

Key Stories Impacting Lockheed Martin

Here are the key news stories impacting Lockheed Martin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $735 price target, signaling meaningful potential upside. Guggenheim coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed’s PAC-3 interceptor business could benefit from a multiyear award valued at about $58.6 billion and plans to expand annual production capacity. The large backlog supports future revenue, although execution and profitable delivery remain important. InvestorPlace article on PAC-3 production
• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed was cited for strong relative strength over the past month, supported by its recent quarterly results. Zacks relative-strength report
• Negative Sentiment: Democrats’ midterm gains put control of both chambers of Congress in their hands, raising questions about the administration’s proposed defense spending. Reports cited a possible reduction in the Pentagon’s budget request, creating uncertainty for defense contractors’ future funding and contracts. Motley Fool article on election impact
• Negative Sentiment: Lockheed agreed to pay $29.5 million to settle federal allegations that it discriminated against white workers. The payment is relatively modest compared with the company’s scale, but the case could bring reputational and compliance scrutiny, including because it concerns a federal contractor. New York Post settlement report

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 6.9%

Shares of Lockheed Martin stock opened at $594.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Lockheed Martin Corporation has a 1 year low of $437.25 and a 1 year high of $692.00. The company has a market capitalization of $137.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $548.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $569.72.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.52 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.48 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 83.41% and a net margin of 8.23%. Lockheed Martin’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.95 earnings per share. 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. This represents a $14.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.45. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio 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.