Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 0.3% – Here’s Why

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) dropped 0.3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $543.33 and last traded at $543.61. Approximately 154,946 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,051,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $545.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LMT shares. StockNews.com cut Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $519.00 to $626.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $589.00 to $603.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Melius upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $611.00.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $128.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.47 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $579.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $518.86.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $17.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 101.44%. The business’s revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.77 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $3.30 dividend. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. This is a boost from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 1.7% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,942,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $902,714,000 after buying an additional 31,545 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $911,433,000 after acquiring an additional 1,556,609 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 180,074 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 11.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,169,223 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $546,144,000 after purchasing an additional 119,052 shares during the period. Finally, Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings 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 worth $476,947,000 after buying an additional 1,019,281 shares in the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.