Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Down 0.4% – What’s Next?

Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) were down 0.4% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $465.56 and last traded at $468.53. Approximately 168,868 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,101,887 shares. The stock had previously closed at $470.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $555.00 to $525.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays reduced their target price on Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Monday, March 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $554.20.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 5.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $103.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $460.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $515.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its 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 predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 59.30%.

Insider Transactions at Lockheed Martin

In other news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LMT. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 112.8% during the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 2,249 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 2.1% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 656,807 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $382,498,000 after buying an additional 13,253 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 79.9% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 12,068 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $7,054,000 after acquiring an additional 5,361 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 9,528 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,630,000 after acquiring an additional 3,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 92,131 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $44,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

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.