Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Shares Acquired by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 75.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,034 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after purchasing an additional 444 shares during the quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 130.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after buying an additional 2,019 shares in the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 86.1% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 16,369 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,419,000 after acquiring an additional 7,575 shares during the last quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC boosted its position in Lockheed Martin by 99.6% during the 4th quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 147,811 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $66,697,000 after purchasing an additional 73,774 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 414.2% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board increased its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LMT. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $503.00 to $599.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $483.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $540.00 to $600.00 in a research note on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $511.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $500.00 to $600.00 in a report on Monday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $553.43.

Insider Activity

In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $515.36, for a total transaction of $2,048,556.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,574,850.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:LMT opened at $566.82 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $524.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $478.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.46. Lockheed Martin Co. has a 1-year low of $393.77 and a 1-year high of $578.73.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $18.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.05 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 95.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $3.15 dividend. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is 46.10%.

Lockheed Martin Profile

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.