Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Upgraded at Melius

Melius upgraded shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $704.00 target price on the aerospace company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on LMT. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $503.00 to $599.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $635.00 price target on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, August 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $511.00 to $538.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $480.00 to $505.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $565.00 and gave the company a positive rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $553.43.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of LMT opened at $568.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.24. Lockheed Martin has a one year low of $393.77 and a one year high of $578.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $522.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $477.58. The company has a market capitalization of $136.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.56 and a beta of 0.46.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The aerospace company reported $7.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 95.03% and a net margin of 9.48%. Lockheed Martin’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.73 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin will post 26.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $3.15 per share. This represents a $12.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is 46.10%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wulff Hansen & CO. boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 56,626.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,021,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $476,947,000 after buying an additional 1,019,281 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1,075.2% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 481,106 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $218,841,000 after buying an additional 440,169 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,589,447 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,173,641,000 after buying an additional 336,588 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lockheed Martin during the first quarter worth $151,402,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Lockheed Martin by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 574,017 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $260,169,000 after acquiring an additional 274,680 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.