Lockheed Martin Corporation $LMT Position Lowered by Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC

Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) by 11.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 44,100 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 5,856 shares during the period. Lockheed Martin accounts for about 2.3% of Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Villere ST Denis J & Co. LLC’s holdings in Lockheed Martin were worth $22,458,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 2nd quarter worth about $9,617,574,000. Corient Private Wealth LP acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth $101,960,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth $645,258,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter valued at $497,469,000. Finally, Sanders Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 44.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 3,030,638 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,543,352,000 after purchasing an additional 937,105 shares in the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LMT opened at $589.48 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $548.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $569.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.94, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.07. Lockheed Martin Corporation has a one year low of $437.25 and a one year high of $692.00.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 30.66 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $3.60 per share. This is an increase from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.45. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $14.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on LMT shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $570.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $653.00 to $690.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Lockheed Martin from $629.00 to $564.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $615.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Sunday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $647.00.

Lockheed Martin Company 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.