Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Cut to “Sector Perform” at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has $480.00 price objective on the aerospace company’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $550.00.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Lockheed Martin from $527.00 to $508.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $685.00 to $485.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lockheed Martin from $540.00 to $535.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Melius Research downgraded Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Monday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $539.53.

Lockheed Martin Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of LMT opened at $441.41 on Thursday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $456.49 and a 200 day moving average of $510.30. The company has a market cap of $103.90 billion, a PE ratio of 19.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. Lockheed Martin has a 52-week low of $419.70 and a 52-week high of $618.95.

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

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $3.30 per share. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total transaction of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This represents a 23.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916 over the last 90 days. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LMT. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the third quarter worth $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lockheed Martin during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Hedge funds and other 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.