Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Shares Down 0.6% – Time to Sell?

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) dropped 0.6% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $493.98 and last traded at $496.58. Approximately 260,733 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 1,128,625 shares. The stock had previously closed at $499.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LMT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Lockheed Martin from $519.00 to $626.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lockheed Martin from $546.00 to $540.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Lockheed Martin from $589.00 to $603.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $611.00 to $523.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $577.73.

Lockheed Martin Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company has a market cap of $117.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.11 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $500.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $536.25.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.50 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $17.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a return on equity of 101.44% and a net margin of 9.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lockheed Martin Co. will post 26.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LMT. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,827,645 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $2,816,898,000 after acquiring an additional 83,997 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Lockheed Martin by 6.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,981,088,000 after acquiring an additional 209,591 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 8.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,074,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $1,797,437,000 after buying an additional 240,306 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1.7% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,942,658 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $902,714,000 after buying an additional 31,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $911,433,000 after buying an additional 1,556,609 shares in the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.