Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 2.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price rose 2.2% during trading on Friday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $468.00 to $476.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as high as $469.73 and last traded at $471.77. Approximately 393,810 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 64% from the average daily volume of 1,106,790 shares. The stock had previously closed at $461.50.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on LMT. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their target price 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. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $527.00 to $508.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value 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. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. Spinnaker Trust raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Spinnaker Trust now owns 671 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 23.1% during the third quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 1,401 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Blake Schutter Theil Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter worth $887,000. Financial Enhancement Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 2,268.3% in the third quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 10,444 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,105,000 after acquiring an additional 10,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graypoint LLC increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 2.3 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $463.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $522.42. 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 has a market capitalization of $111.11 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 59.30%.

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.