Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Climb 2.5% – What’s Next?

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) shares shot up 2.5% during trading on Tuesday. The stock traded as high as $605.81 and last traded at $603.1870. Approximately 908,565 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 1,469,954 shares. The stock had previously closed at $588.19.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LMT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim began coverage on Lockheed Martin in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. They set a “buy” rating and a $735.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $620.00 to $665.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 target price on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Friday, July 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lockheed Martin presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $647.00.

Lockheed Martin Trading Down 1.1%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $550.90 and a 200-day moving average of $569.81. The company has a market cap of $139.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $7.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.95 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 30.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $3.60 per share. This represents a $14.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost 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 49.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LMT. 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. bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the second quarter valued at about $9,617,574,000. Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new stake in Lockheed Martin during the second quarter valued at about $101,960,000. Sanders Capital LLC grew its stake in Lockheed Martin by 44.8% in the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 3,030,638 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,543,352,000 after purchasing an additional 937,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin in the second quarter valued at about $645,258,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

Lockheed Martin Company Profile

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.