Lockheed Martin Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:LMT)

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors acquired 18,520 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 147% compared to the average daily volume of 7,499 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LMT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $560.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $635.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Friday. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $565.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on Lockheed Martin from $511.00 to $538.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $518.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $541.85.

Lockheed Martin Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE LMT traded down $2.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $564.67. The company had a trading volume of 379,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,067,081. 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 50-day simple moving average of $510.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $471.88. The company has a market capitalization of $135.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 0.46. Lockheed Martin has a one year low of $393.77 and a one year high of $569.09.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.66. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 95.03%. The firm had revenue of $18.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.73 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Lockheed Martin will post 26.71 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $3.15 per share. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s payout ratio is 46.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Timothy S. Cahill sold 3,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.36, for a total transaction of $2,048,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,574,850.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,589,447 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,173,641,000 after acquiring an additional 336,588 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,384,774 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $646,828,000 after purchasing an additional 180,074 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,169,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $546,144,000 after buying an additional 119,052 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 56,626.7% in the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,021,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $476,947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,019,281 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

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.