Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 9,539 Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lessened its position in shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 549,218 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 9,539 shares during the quarter. Lockheed Martin comprises 1.4% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.23% of Lockheed Martin worth $266,887,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 112.8% during the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 2,249 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 2.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 656,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $382,498,000 after buying an additional 13,253 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 79.9% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 12,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $7,054,000 after acquiring an additional 5,361 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 9,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 92,131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $44,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value of $312,925.27. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This represents a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

NYSE:LMT opened at $451.44 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $465.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $524.06. Lockheed Martin Co. has a fifty-two week low of $419.70 and a fifty-two week high of $618.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13.

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 return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 59.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $497.00 to $468.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $553.67.

Lockheed Martin Company 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.