Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Sets New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on the stock from $600.00 to $675.00. Royal Bank of Canada currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as high as $611.59 and last traded at $609.77, with a volume of 232555 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $605.13.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on LMT. Melius Research raised shares of Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $635.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $480.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $511.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $568.31.

Insider Transactions at Lockheed Martin

In other news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $515.36, for a total transaction of $2,048,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,877 shares in the company, valued at $4,574,850.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 130.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,611,000. Verity & Verity LLC raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 414.2% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,121 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,228,000 after acquiring an additional 5,736 shares during the period. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $145.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $565.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $500.06.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $18.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 95.03%. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.73 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.65 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.30 dividend. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.10%.

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.