Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by Melius Research

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Melius Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on LMT. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered shares of Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $611.00 to $523.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America downgraded Lockheed Martin from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $685.00 to $485.00 in a research report on Monday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $565.00 to $515.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Lockheed Martin from $570.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $544.20.

Lockheed Martin Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE LMT opened at $442.63 on Monday. Lockheed Martin has a 12-month low of $419.70 and a 12-month high of $618.95. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $459.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $512.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $104.19 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.10.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The aerospace company reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Lockheed Martin will post 27.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lockheed Martin

In related news, insider Robert M. Lightfoot, Jr. sold 3,213 shares of Lockheed Martin stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.42, for a total transaction of $1,421,495.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,840. This trade represents a 61.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Harry Edward Paul III sold 707 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $442.61, for a total value of $312,925.27. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,278 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,008,265.58. This represents a 23.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,133 shares of company stock worth $3,155,916 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lockheed Martin

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 53,784.3% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,235,568 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $600,412,000 after acquiring an additional 1,233,275 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lockheed Martin by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,471,071 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $3,630,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132,461 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lockheed Martin during the fourth quarter worth approximately $526,587,000. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Lockheed Martin in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $451,985,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 1,239.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 548,237 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $266,410,000 after buying an additional 507,312 shares in the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.