Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) shares traded up 0.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $491.76 and last traded at $491.17. 160,725 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,093,384 shares. The stock had previously closed at $488.13.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LMT shares. Melius raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on Lockheed Martin from $505.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $635.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $612.29.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company’s fifty day moving average is $533.71 and its 200 day moving average is $533.64. The stock has a market cap of $116.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.46.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.44% and a net margin of 9.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.77 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.79%.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sachetta LLC raised its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 50.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 60 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in 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. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin in the third quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.