Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Lockheed Martin Call Options (NYSE:LMT)

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 155,267 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,691% compared to the average volume of 8,670 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 29,639 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $14,796,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter worth about $3,075,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 22.4% during the 3rd quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 25,423 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $12,688,000 after buying an additional 4,652 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lockheed Martin by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,036 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,010,000 after buying an additional 2,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 39,410 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $19,674,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Lockheed Martin

Here are the key news stories impacting Lockheed Martin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Unusual call buying — Traders bought 155,267 LMT call options today (roughly a 1,691% jump versus typical daily call volume), a strongly bullish signal that likely pushed intraday prices higher.
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven manufacturing interest — Industry research highlights growing investment in AI-driven, software-defined defense factories and notes primes like Lockheed as potential beneficiaries, supporting longer-term revenue/efficiency upside. AI-Driven Defense Manufacturing Infrastructure Report 2025-2030
• Positive Sentiment: Relative strength vs. broader market — Coverage noting LMT is outperforming the Nasdaq and that the Street remains constructive likely reinforced investor confidence and buying momentum. Is Lockheed Martin Stock Outperforming the Nasdaq?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/industry commentary on durable growth — Recent write-ups emphasize Lockheed’s predictable revenue profile and geopolitical hedge, supporting a bullish/defensive case for the stock. Lockheed Martin: Robust, Predictable Growth With Geopolitical Hedge Built In
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation/positioning view — Some analyst pieces call Lockheed operationally strong but “fully priced,” recommending a hold rather than buy, which tempers upside despite positive fundamentals. Operationally Strong, Valuation Fully Priced – Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Pentagon/Anthropic scrutiny — The Pentagon’s dispute with Anthropic and requests for defense primes (including Lockheed) to report any reliance on Anthropic’s Claude model raise supply‑chain/third‑party AI risk concerns; this creates short‑term uncertainty about contract requirements, certification, or replacement costs. Pentagon Anthropic feud has sales and AI warfare at stake Pentagon asks Boeing, Lockheed Martin about their exposure to Anthropic

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Shares of LMT stock opened at $659.24 on Friday. Lockheed Martin has a 52 week low of $410.11 and a 52 week high of $669.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.68, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.09. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $581.76 and its 200-day moving average is $509.66.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.53). The business had revenue of $20.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.84 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 6.69% and a return on equity of 108.53%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 27th. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $3.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $13.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $654.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen cut Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Lockheed Martin from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $515.00 to $680.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $580.00 to $663.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $612.50.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world.

Lockheed Martin’s product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons.