Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading 0.3% Higher – Here’s Why

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) shares traded up 0.3% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $465.94 and last traded at $463.03. 288,684 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 1,118,792 shares. The stock had previously closed at $461.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $555.00 to $525.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $527.00 to $508.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $554.20.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $461.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $518.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $109.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 101.47%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 in the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

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.