Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 0.2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) fell 0.2% during trading on Wednesday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as low as $575.86 and last traded at $575.86. 256,823 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,049,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $576.98.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lockheed Martin from $483.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mattson Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 50.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 65.8% during the first quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC now owns 63 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 48.9% during the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 67 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $135.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $579.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $513.50.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $17.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 95.03% and a net margin of 9.48%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.77 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $3.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.34%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio 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.