Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

by · The Cerbat Gem

StockNews.com cut shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT – Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on LMT. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $511.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $480.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lockheed Martin from $518.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Melius Research raised Lockheed Martin to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $562.54.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LMT

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Shares of LMT opened at $605.13 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $565.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $499.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. Lockheed Martin has a 52 week low of $393.77 and a 52 week high of $611.49. The stock has a market cap of $145.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.14, a PEG ratio of 4.66 and a beta of 0.47.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.45 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $18.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 95.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.73 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lockheed Martin 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lockheed Martin

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

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 56,626.7% in the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,021,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $476,947,000 after buying an additional 1,019,281 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 1,075.2% in the first quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 481,106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $218,841,000 after purchasing an additional 440,169 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the first quarter worth $151,402,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 29.7% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 953,285 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $433,621,000 after purchasing an additional 218,506 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 219.3% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 318,107 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $149,138,000 after purchasing an additional 218,466 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

About Lockheed Martin

(Get Free Report)

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.

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