Essex Financial Services Inc. Trims Holdings in Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Essex Financial Services Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,254 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 52 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $2,835,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Triumph Capital Management lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 3.1% in the third quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 723 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Abbrea Capital LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Planning Services Inc. now owns 1,429 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.2% during the third quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 2,013 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $823,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norris Perne & French LLP MI boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Norris Perne & French LLP MI now owns 905 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LMT. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $475.00 to $470.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $460.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $475.00 to $518.00 in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $467.00 to $487.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $485.40.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LMT traded down $1.27 on Wednesday, hitting $463.66. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 454,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,150,981. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $445.43 and a 200-day moving average of $444.99. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 12-month low of $393.77 and a 12-month high of $479.50. The company has a market capitalization of $111.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 0.48.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $6.33 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.53. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 85.96% and a net margin of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $17.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.43 EPS. Lockheed Martin’s quarterly revenue was up 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lockheed Martin

In related news, COO John Frank A. St sold 6,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.35, for a total value of $2,827,726.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Gregory M. Ulmer sold 6,204 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $431.19, for a total value of $2,675,102.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,604 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,434,718.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO John Frank A. St sold 6,648 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.35, for a total value of $2,827,726.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 16,874 shares of company stock valued at $7,249,946. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.