Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Trading Down 2.8% – Should You Sell?

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) shares dropped 2.8% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $550.19 and last traded at $556.0080. Approximately 2,233,060 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 29% from the average daily volume of 1,736,452 shares. The stock had previously closed at $571.95.

More Lockheed Martin News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed won roughly $137 million in new defense contracts, supporting near-term revenue and backlog visibility. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Lockheed launched the final GPS III satellite, a milestone that advances its space franchise and long-term government program revenues. Investors are treating this as supportive for the company’s space backlog. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: A subcontractor (General Atomics) was awarded work to deliver infrared payloads for Lockheed’s SDA tracking-layer program, underscoring program execution and supply-chain activity on space contracts. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein nudged its price target higher to $661 (market-perform), indicating modest analyst support and potential upside from current levels if sentiment recovers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Retail chatter spiked after the GPS III launch and recent contract wins, briefly boosting interest and volume — a technical/flow-driven positive that can amplify short-term moves. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst pieces and sector comparisons (LMT vs. GD) highlight that Lockheed remains a core defense play but faces competition from peers for relative outperformance; useful context but not an immediate catalyst. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentators note the stock is technically oversold and could be set up for a short-term reversal if earnings/contract cadence remains steady — a mixed signal that explains high volatility. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Investigative coverage underscores the F‑35 program’s massive lifetime cost (reported at ~$2 trillion), highlighting that sustainment and repair expenses are a large, ongoing drain — this can weigh on investor perceptions of program profitability and long-run margin assumptions. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Opinion pieces argue Lockheed’s strong backlog and share gains are largely priced in and recommend other defense stocks for upside, a narrative that can pressure sentiment and limit near-term multiple expansion. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $630.00 to $640.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $673.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Lockheed Martin from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Lockheed Martin from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, March 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Lockheed Martin in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $650.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lockheed Martin presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $646.16.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $634.73 and a 200-day moving average of $553.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.87, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.23.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The aerospace company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.53). The firm had revenue of $20.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.84 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 6.69% and a return on equity of 108.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.67 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin Corporation will post 29.95 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were issued a dividend of $3.45 per share. This represents a $13.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.22%.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LMT. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 29,639 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $14,796,000 after acquiring an additional 3,031 shares during the last quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lockheed Martin during the third quarter worth $3,075,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 22.4% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 25,423 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $12,688,000 after purchasing an additional 4,652 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 29.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 10,036 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $5,010,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 9.3% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 39,410 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $19,674,000 after purchasing an additional 3,352 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.19% of the company’s stock.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE: LMT) is a global aerospace and defense company that designs, develops and manufactures advanced technology systems for government and commercial customers. Formed through the 1995 merger of Lockheed Corporation and Martin Marietta, the company is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, and focuses on providing integrated solutions across air, space, land and sea domains. Its primary customers include the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA and allied governments around the world.

Lockheed Martin’s product and service portfolio spans military aircraft, missile and fire-control systems, missile defense, space systems and satellite technologies, sensors and precision weapons.