Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 1.9% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) fell 1.9% on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $622.70 and last traded at $623.3880. Approximately 2,166,674 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 48% from the average session volume of 1,460,558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $635.20.

Key Stories Impacting Lockheed Martin

Here are the key news stories impacting Lockheed Martin this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed Martin received a $694 million U.S. Air Force contract to produce its Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon, adding a new hypersonic missile production award to its defense portfolio. Lockheed Martin to Add Air-Launched Hypersonic Missile to the American Arsenal of Freedom
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley upgraded LMT to Overweight and raised its price target to $835 from $690, citing a 10-year F-35 production and sustainment framework. The agreement is expected to reduce uncertainty around the company’s largest program and improve long-term revenue visibility. Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Deal Could Change How Wall Street Values the Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed Martin’s third-quarter results showed approximately 11% year-over-year revenue growth, an earnings beat and a record $292 billion backlog. Strong F-35 and missile demand, including a major PAC-3 award, supports expectations for sustained growth. Lockheed Martin Q3 2026: Shattering 9-Month Expectations With a Record $292B Backlog
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded LMT to Rank #2, or Buy, reflecting improved expectations for the company’s earnings prospects. All You Need to Know About Lockheed Rating Upgrade to Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: The F-35 framework still requires congressional authorization and appropriations. Any delay could weaken the expected reduction in program risk.
• Negative Sentiment: After its recent advance, LMT’s valuation is above its historical average, which may encourage profit-taking and make additional gains more dependent on contract execution and earnings growth.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on LMT shares. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $615.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Sunday. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $570.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $554.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $600.00 price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $638.05.

Lockheed Martin Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $540.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $566.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $143.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.09.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.52 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $20.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.48 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 83.41% and a net margin of 8.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.95 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 30.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $3.60 per share. This represents a $14.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,975,170 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $16,799,530,000 after acquiring an additional 419,582 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth $9,617,574,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth $101,960,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth $645,258,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin during the 2nd quarter worth $497,469,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a global security and aerospace company headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Formed in 1995 through the merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company develops and produces advanced defense, aerospace, and technology systems for government and commercial customers.

Its principal business areas include Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space. Products and services include military aircraft such as the F-35 Lightning II, C-130 Hercules, and F-16 Fighting Falcon; missile-defense and precision-strike systems; helicopters and naval systems; command, control, communications, and intelligence technologies; satellites; space exploration systems; and other classified space and defense programs.

Lockheed Martin serves the U.S.