Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) have been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the fifteen research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $544.20.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LMT. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Lockheed Martin from $527.00 to $508.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $685.00 to $485.00 in a report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lockheed Martin

In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This trade represents a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LMT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,630,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,461 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,374,557,000 after purchasing an additional 59,597 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,981,088,000 after purchasing an additional 209,591 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,074,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,797,437,000 after buying an additional 240,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,098,667,000 after buying an additional 134,662 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of LMT stock opened at $434.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $102.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. Lockheed Martin has a twelve month low of $419.70 and a twelve month high of $618.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $459.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $513.50.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.30%.

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.