Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $589.00 to $603.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Bank of America reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $612.29.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of LMT stock opened at $490.47 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. Lockheed Martin has a 12-month low of $413.92 and a 12-month high of $618.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $548.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $533.36. The company has a market capitalization of $116.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.46.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 101.44%. The company had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.77 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Lockheed Martin will post 26.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $211,000. FFG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. FFG Partners LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $10,936,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the period. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 196.0% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 148 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. American Trust boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 20.0% in the 3rd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,553 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $908,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Finally, Old North State Trust LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 745 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.