Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $611.00.

LMT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $503.00 to $599.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Melius Research upgraded Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Lockheed Martin from $519.00 to $626.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $483.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

NYSE LMT opened at $533.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $574.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $526.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.30. Lockheed Martin has a fifty-two week low of $413.92 and a fifty-two week high of $618.95.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.44% and a net margin of 9.36%. Lockheed Martin’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.77 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin will post 26.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CVA Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,548 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $905,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 4.0% during the third quarter. AllGen Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 468 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 20.5% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Sunburst Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sunburst Financial Group LLC now owns 566 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $331,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quad Cities Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quad Cities Investment Group LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $919,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.