Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Up 0.5% Following Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) shares traded up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Baird R W upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $466.76 and last traded at $465.88. 160,523 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 1,244,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $463.55.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on LMT. Melius Research downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $579.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Melius lowered Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $544.79.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,008,265.58. This represents a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,840. This represents a 61.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 41,104.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,991,433 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $889,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986,600 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 53,784.3% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,235,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $600,412,000 after purchasing an additional 1,233,275 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,630,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,461 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at $526,587,000. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter worth $451,985,000. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $454.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $493.33. The stock has a market cap of $109.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.39.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.28 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $17.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.83 billion. Research analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.02%.

About Lockheed Martin

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.