Ariel Investments, an investment management company, released its “Ariel Focus Fund” fourth-quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Small cap issues fell in December due to uncertainty and slower Federal Reserve easing, but investors should focus on solid fundamentals as stock prices rise. In the fourth quarter, the fund declined -1.19%, compared to -1.98% return for the Russell 1000 Value Index and the +2.41% return for the S&P 500 Index. The fund increased +13.48%, over the trailing one-year period, compared to +14.37% and +25.02%, respectively, for the indexes. In addition, please check the fund’s top five holdings to know its best picks in 2024.
In its fourth quarter 2024 investor letter, Ariel Focus Fund emphasized stocks such as Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT). Based in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) is an aerospace and defense company. The one-month return of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) was -1.83%, and its shares gained 3.50% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On February 28, 2025, Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) stock closed at $450.37 per share with a market capitalization of $106.011 billion.
Ariel Focus Fund stated the following regarding Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Shares of leading global defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) also traded lower returning some of its third quarter gains. Although earnings were solid, investor uncertainty tied to ongoing F-35 contract negotiations and software delays overshadowed the company’s robust order backlog and return of capital to shareholders via share repurchases and dividends. In our view, LMT continues to be well positioned in the defense sector.”
Two fighter jets in flight, highlighting the technology and experience of the companies combat aircraft.
Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) is not on our list of 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 65 hedge fund portfolios held Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) at the end of the fourth quarter compared to 58 in the third quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
In another article, we discussed Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) and shared the list of best stocks for a dividend stock portfolio. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q4 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.