Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $560.00 to $630.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as high as $611.74 and last traded at $610.87, with a volume of 370791 shares. The stock had previously closed at $604.17.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on LMT. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Melius Research upgraded Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $503.00 to $599.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $480.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $587.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,574,850.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 130.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 2,019 shares during the period. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,611,000. Verity & Verity LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $15,992,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the last quarter. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,096,000. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 20.5% during the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $6,222,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $145.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $574.64 and a 200 day moving average of $507.73. 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 (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.73 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. 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 presently 48.30%.

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.