Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 0.9% – Should You Buy?

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s share price traded up 0.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $446.17 and last traded at $445.38. 362,356 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 1,547,984 shares. The stock had previously closed at $441.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $497.00 to $468.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $555.00 to $525.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $553.67.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 0.8 %

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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $465.79 and its 200-day moving average is $525.34. The firm has a market cap of $105.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.48.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is presently 59.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lockheed Martin

In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value of $312,925.27. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 17.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,132,461 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 59,597 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,981,088,000 after buying an additional 209,591 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 240,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 6.3% in 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 buying an additional 134,662 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.