Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Up 0.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price shot up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Friday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $565.00 to $705.00. Susquehanna currently has a positive rating on the stock. Lockheed Martin traded as high as $611.60 and last traded at $611.60. 145,897 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,043,519 shares. The stock had previously closed at $609.62.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research raised Lockheed Martin to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Melius raised Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Lockheed Martin from $511.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $480.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $597.92.

Insider Transactions at Lockheed Martin

In related news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.36, for a total value of $2,048,556.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,574,850.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 130.0% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,572 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,668,000 after acquiring an additional 2,019 shares during the last quarter. Buck Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,611,000. Verity & Verity LLC lifted its position in Lockheed Martin by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Verity & Verity LLC now owns 34,236 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $15,992,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares during the period. Watts Gwilliam & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,096,000. Finally, New Mexico Educational Retirement Board boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,097 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $6,222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.24. The company has a market cap of $146.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $577.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $509.17.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $18.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.05 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 95.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.73 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.68 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The business 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 $3.30 dividend. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.