Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 0.1% Following Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s share price rose 0.1% on Thursday after TD Cowen raised their price target on the stock from $560.00 to $610.00. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as high as $573.93 and last traded at $571.77. Approximately 249,125 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 1,050,761 shares. The stock had previously closed at $571.10.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on LMT. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $483.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Melius Research upgraded Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $630.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $635.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.71.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,942,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $902,714,000 after purchasing an additional 31,545 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $911,433,000 after buying an additional 1,556,609 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 14.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,384,774 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $646,828,000 after buying an additional 180,074 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 11.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,169,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $546,144,000 after acquiring an additional 119,052 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 56,626.7% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,021,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $476,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,281 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 0.1 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $579.95 and its 200 day moving average is $513.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. The firm has a market cap of $137.19 billion, a PE ratio of 20.92, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.47.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 95.03% and a net margin of 9.48%. The company had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.68 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 48.30%.

About Lockheed Martin

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.