Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Receives $544.20 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $539.53.

Several research firms recently weighed in on LMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $611.00 to $523.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Melius Research lowered shares of Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Lockheed Martin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $550.00 to $480.00 in a research note on Thursday.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

Lockheed Martin stock opened at $442.27 on Tuesday. Lockheed Martin has a fifty-two week low of $419.70 and a fifty-two week high of $618.95. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $457.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $511.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $104.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts predict that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This represents a 23.69 % decrease in their position. 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,630,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,461 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $2,374,557,000 after acquiring an additional 59,597 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,981,088,000 after acquiring an additional 209,591 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 8.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,074,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,797,437,000 after acquiring an additional 240,306 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Lockheed Martin by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,098,667,000 after purchasing an additional 134,662 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently 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.