Baird R W Upgrades Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) to “Strong-Buy”

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) was upgraded by Baird R W from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on LMT. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $476.00 to $432.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Melius Research downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Melius downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays cut their price target on 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, Morgan Stanley raised Lockheed Martin from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $575.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $544.79.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of LMT stock opened at $466.88 on Wednesday. Lockheed Martin has a one year low of $418.88 and a one year high of $618.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $454.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $493.33. The firm has a market cap of $109.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.39.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.34 by $0.94. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. The business had revenue of $17.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.83 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This trade represents a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.