Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at Melius Research

Melius Research upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on LMT. TD Cowen upgraded Lockheed Martin from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $480.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Melius upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $704.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $518.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $480.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $483.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $553.43.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

Shares of LMT opened at $567.22 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $136.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.24. Lockheed Martin has a 52-week low of $393.77 and a 52-week high of $572.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $518.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $476.26.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $18.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 95.03% and a net margin of 9.48%. Lockheed Martin’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.73 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lockheed Martin will post 26.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $3.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 46.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.36, for a total value of $2,048,556.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,574,850.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Lockheed Martin in the second quarter valued at about $201,000. New Century Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 179.6% in the 2nd quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. 3Chopt Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,097,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Lockheed Martin by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 266,352 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $124,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.9% during the second quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 9,092 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $4,180,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. 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.