Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading 0.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT)’s stock price shot up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $447.05 and last traded at $446.66. 344,798 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,226,331 shares. The stock had previously closed at $443.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LMT shares. Melius cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut Lockheed Martin from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $550.00 to $480.00 in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on Lockheed Martin from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $590.00 to $550.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $536.60.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 3.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.13. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $449.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $503.31. The company has a market cap of $107.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.39.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.58 by $1.09. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.47% and a net margin of 7.51%. Research analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 27.15 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $3.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is 59.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lockheed Martin news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total value of $1,421,495.46. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at $884,840. The trade was a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value 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. The trade was a 23.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,133 shares of company stock valued at $3,155,916 over the last ninety days. 0.17% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $3,630,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132,461 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,887,242 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,374,557,000 after buying an additional 59,597 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,260,910 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,098,667,000 after buying an additional 134,662 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,131,928 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,035,989,000 after acquiring an additional 318,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 41,104.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,991,433 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $889,593,000 after acquiring an additional 1,986,600 shares during the period. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

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.