Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $485.40.

LMT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $475.00 to $518.00 in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $380.00 to $377.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $482.00 to $499.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $467.00 to $487.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

LMT opened at $461.95 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $446.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $445.23. Lockheed Martin has a 1 year low of $393.77 and a 1 year high of $479.50. The stock has a market cap of $110.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.11.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The aerospace company reported $6.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.80 by $0.53. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.73% and a return on equity of 85.96%. The business had revenue of $17.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.43 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin will post 26.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $3.15 per share. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 46.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO John Frank A. St sold 6,648 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.35, for a total value of $2,827,726.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Maryanne Lavan sold 4,022 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $434.39, for a total value of $1,747,116.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO John Frank A. St sold 6,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.35, for a total transaction of $2,827,726.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,874 shares of company stock worth $7,249,946. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 1.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,302,719 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $9,120,920,000 after purchasing an additional 279,162 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,686,937 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,302,388,000 after acquiring an additional 97,916 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,158,783 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,291,816,000 after acquiring an additional 121,358 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,589,447 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,173,641,000 after acquiring an additional 336,588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 4.0% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,388,377 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $976,751,000 after purchasing an additional 91,109 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.